CABINET OFFICE

Government Departments: Weather

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what account his Department took of the October 2010 Met Office forecast of a mild winter in preparations across Government for the winter of 2010.

Francis Maude: The Met Office provide the Government with regular updates throughout the year to inform short, medium and longer term planning. In late October, the Met Office advised that temperatures during November and December were likely to be average or colder. This information was shared with Departments as part of a wider review of winter preparedness.

Public Sector: Sick Leave

David Amess: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what guidance his Department has provided to Government Departments on the use of absence management programmes to reduce the rates of sickness absence among staff.

Francis Maude: The Civil Service Management Code gives Departments and agencies the delegated authority to ensure that sickness absence is managed effectively.
	The Cabinet Office has published a cross-civil service health and well-being framework that covers these issues. This is available to all Departments via the civil service website:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/improving/health/resources.aspx

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

British Sky Broadcasting

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will publish the report by Ofcom on BSkyB and media plurality; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Hunt: In making my decision about News Corporation's proposed acquisition of BSkyB, I will take as much time as necessary to carefully consider all the relevant information so that I am able to come to a fully considered decision. Our internal Government guidance suggests 10 working days, but this is guidance rather than a requirement. In view of the commercial sensitivity of the process and the need to preserve legitimate confidentiality, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on every stage of the process. I will publish Ofcom's report with commercially sensitive information redacted. I have not taken a final decision about when to publish, but I have a duty to publish the report before or at the time of the announcement of my decision.

British Sky Broadcasting

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  whether he plans to announce his decision on whether to refer News Corporation's proposed acquisition of BSkyB to the Competition Commission within the timescale outlined in Government guidance for such referrals;
	(2)  whether  (a) he and  (b) officials in his Department plan to meet senior executives from News Corporation prior to his decision on whether to refer News Corporation's proposed acquisition of BSkyB to the Competition Commission;
	(3)  whether  (a) he and  (b) officials in his Department plan to meet representatives of media organisations opposed to News Corporation's proposed acquisition of BSkyB prior to his decision on whether to refer the proposed acquisition to the Competition Commission;
	(4)  whether he plans to publish in full Ofcom's report to him on the public interest considerations raised by News Corporation's proposed acquisition of BSkyB  (a) at the same time as,  (b) in advance of or  (c) after the announcement of his decision on referral of the proposed acquisition to the Competition Commission.

Jeremy Hunt: In making my decision about News Corporation's proposed acquisition of BSkyB, I will take as much time as necessary to carefully consider all the relevant information so that I am able to come to a fully considered decision. Our internal Government guidance suggests 10 working days, but this is guidance rather than a requirement. In view of the commercial sensitivity of the process and the need to preserve legitimate confidentiality, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on every stage of the process. I will publish Ofcom's report with commercially sensitive information redacted. I have not taken a final decision about when to publish, but I have a duty to publish the report before or at the time of the announcement of my decision.

Departmental Marketing

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much his Department has spent on advertising, marketing and publicity since May 2010; and under what budget headings these costs were incurred.

Jeremy Hunt: The Department spent £114,007.10 on advertising, marketing and publicity in the period May 2010 to the end of November 2010. The costs were incurred against its Publicity, Government Olympic Executive and News and Digital budget headings.
	Publicity expenditure on these areas since May 2010 is £33,691.10 and was primarily spent on statutory publications including the Change Management Plan, DCMS Resource Accounts and the DCMS Annual Report. This also includes events such as the DCMS all staff meeting.
	Government Olympic Executive expenditure on these areas is £42,689 and was spent mainly on publications and a digital strategy.
	News and Digital expenditure on these areas is £37,637 with the majority of that being spent on updating the DCMS website.

HMS Victory 1744

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport when he plans to respond to his Department's consultation on HMS Victory 1744: Options for the Management of the Wreck Site.

John Penrose: The public consultation on the future management of the wreck site of HMS Victory was a joint consultation by this Department with the Ministry of Defence, published by the previous Government. A joint response is intended to be published in the spring.

Tourism: North East

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to ensure that the tourist industry in the North East is not adversely affected by reductions in government funding for the industry.

John Penrose: The Government are creating a new international marketing fund for tourism. We are looking to create a fund of more than £100 million, with major companies already pledging support to help match the £50 million of public money the Government have committed through VisitBritain over the next four years.
	We are also investing nearly £33 million in VisitEngland over four years which will focus on promoting the domestic tourism industry and supporting destination management organisations, local authorities and emerging local enterprise partnerships. Tourism in the North East will benefit from both funding initiatives and further details will be included in the new strategy for tourism which will be published shortly
	In addition, the £1.4 billion regional growth fund (RGF) presents an important opportunity for tourism. We have worked to ensure that the RGF is available for tourism-related bids, and Ministers have encouraged the tourism sector to apply.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Energy: Housing

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent estimate has been made of the energy saving likely to arise from retrofitting existing housing stock with energy efficiency measures.

Gregory Barker: The most recent illustration of the likely energy savings generated as a result of retrofitting existing housing stock with energy efficiency measures can be found in the Green Deal impact assessment (IA), published alongside the Energy Bill on 8 December 2010
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/legislation/energy_bill/energy_bill.aspx
	This development stage IA presents two illustrative scenarios for the installation of energy efficiency measures into the existing housing stock between 2013 and 2020 resulting from possible future secondary legislation. Detailed assumptions related to the energy saving per measure are presented in the annexes to the IA. These assumptions are applied to the illustrative scenarios to calculate the total energy savings generated over the life-time of the measures installed. The two scenarios assume different levels of consumer take up of a variety of cost-effective insulation measures.
	The range of total energy savings estimated in the two illustrative scenarios in the Green Deal IA is 64,000 to 87,000 TWH a year from 2020, over the lifetime of all the installed measures. The results do not represent the total amount of energy saving that would result from the retrofitting of the entire housing stock.

Energy: Prices

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what timetable he has set for the amendment of the Feed-in Tariffs (Specified Maximum Capacity and Functions) Order 2010 to provide support for large-scale, ground-mounted solar photovoltaic panels.

Charles Hendry: Following the spending review announcement last October, and our concerns about proposed large industrial-scale green field solar farms distorting the available funding for roof top and other innovative solar technologies, my officials have been monitoring and evaluating the situation. We stand ready to take measures to limit access of schemes to FITs if necessary.

Fuel: Poverty

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he has made an estimate of the potential effect on the number of people in fuel poverty of an increase in the level of energy generated from renewable sources.

Gregory Barker: There have been no recent estimates made about the effect that the increase in the level of energy generated from renewable sources will have on the number of people in fuel poverty.
	Government are mindful of the need to strike a balance between increasing costs on customer bills and enabling progress in tackling fuel poverty.

Green Deal

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment has been made of the likely effects on the rental property market of property loans made under the proposed Green Deal.

Gregory Barker: From late 2012, the Green Deal will offer a range of innovative finance packages allowing landlords to install insulation and energy efficiency measures in their rental properties at no upfront cost to themselves. This should be an attractive option for the rental property market and encourage investment in the sector.
	The key test will be uptake in the first year of implementation. We therefore intend to assess the effects on the rental property market in the real world setting after implementation.

Offshore Industry: Renewable Energy

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what funding mechanisms are in place to encourage investment in the offshore renewable energy sector on the East Anglian coast.

Charles Hendry: The renewables obligation is currently the Government's main financial incentive for renewable electricity. It places a requirement on energy suppliers to source a specified and annually increasing proportion of their sales from renewable sources or pay a penalty. Offshore wind and marine technology generators in England and Wales currently receive two renewable obligation certificates for every megawatt hour of electricity that they generate. The renewables obligation has been successful in more than tripling the level of renewable electricity in the UK from 1.8% in 2002 to 6.6% in 2009.
	DECC has also provided technology support through the low carbon energy demonstration capital grants scheme, which is not currently open to new proposals. The scheme aims to bring forward the demonstration of new components or technology to support the deployment of large-scale offshore wind turbines around the UK within 2020 time scales. In the course of three calls for proposals under the scheme, support was offered to 16 projects, worth a total of over £25 million.
	Future innovation support programmes for low carbon technologies, including off-shore wind, are being considered with decisions expect in the spring.

Wind Power: Offshore Industry

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he has made an estimate of the net effect on the number of jobs consequent on the planned expansion to offshore wind farms on the East Anglian coast  (a) in the next 10 years and  (b) in total.

Charles Hendry: No estimate has been made of employment impact specifically caused by offshore wind farm expansion on the East Anglian coast.
	The Carbon Trust have estimated, in their report "Focus for success-A new approach to commercialising low carbon technologies", that there will be up to 70,000 UK jobs in the offshore wind sector by 2020, made up of 50,000 direct jobs, and 20,000 secondary jobs (in areas such as legal services and finance).

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Common Fisheries Policy

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the effects of the operation of the common fisheries policy on the conservation of fish stocks in British waters.

Richard Benyon: The common fisheries policy (CFP) is not sufficiently conserving fish stocks. Though showing some improvement, in 2009 48% of fish stocks of most interest to the UK with a known stocks status were outside safe biological limits. CFP reform is a crucial opportunity to address this failing and move towards sustainable fisheries. It will take radical reform and we are pressing for the CFP to simplify and decentralise fisheries management, giving fishermen greater incentives to fish sustainably.

Common Fisheries Policy

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has to invite stakeholders to contribute to the review of the common fisheries policy in 2012.

Richard Benyon: As the Minister for fisheries, I have had discussions with a range of organisations and people, including EU institutions and MEPs, about common fisheries policy (CFP) reform, and will continue to seek contributions in advance of publication of the EU Commission's proposals for reform in early summer. This will include contributions from representatives of the fishing industry, both large-scale and under-10 metre fleets, non-governmental organisations and major processors and retailers, to help make the strongest possible case for radical reform of the CFP.

Fisheries

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her most recent estimate is of the financial effects of the practice of discard on fishermen in each region in each year since 1997-98.

Richard Benyon: The total discard estimate in 2009 (the latest period for which figures are available for those fisheries sampled in UK) is 51,179 tonnes. There are many reasons explaining these discards; however, the current system for recording catch and discard data does not allow us to differentiate (year on year) why each fish is discarded. Despite this, Cefas analysis, conducted in 2010 on the 2008 English and Welsh discard data, estimated that:
	54% (13,230 tonnes) of total discards were discarded for reasons relating to weak/absent markets (i.e. non-quota species);
	quota constraints were estimated to account for 22% (5,390 tonnes) of discards (i.e. quota species above the legal minimum landing size);
	24% (5,880 tonnes) of total discards were quota species below the legal minimum landing size (MLS) and were too small to land.
	High grading is another type of discarding where fishermen try to optimise the value of their catches by keeping the good value fish and discarding the poorer value ones. This creates a financial profit for fishermen but is still a waste of legally landable fish. A European high grading ban is in place in waters around the UK to prevent this behaviour. The extent of high grading has not been successfully separated from estimates for other types of discarding. Other types of discarding, such as unmarketable species, over quota and under MLS may represent a loss of value to the fishermen and from the fishery.
	Because discard estimates 1997-2010 have not undergone the same analysis as 2008 data, estimates of the financial impacts of discards for the British fleet as a whole are unreliable. To simply use the average market value of all fish species as a multiplier would give an inaccurate estimate of the financial impact of discards. We do, however, have a more robust study under way looking at the economic impact of discarding fish.

Fisheries

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment her Department has made of the likely effects of distributing under-10 metre fishing quota more evenly between long-liners and trawlers operating off the East Anglian coast;
	(2)  what assessment her Department has made of the effects on skippers of the under-10 metre fishing fleet of the ownership of quotas by non-fishermen;
	(3)  for what reasons non-fishermen are permitted to own quota for the under-10 metre fishing fleet on the East Coast;
	(4)  what recent estimate has been made of the level of sustainability of the under-10 metre fishing fleet of long-liners and trawlers.

Richard Benyon: No specific assessment has been made of the effects of redistribution of quota, or the holding of quota, by non-fishermen on the long-liners of the East Anglian coast.
	Currently, fishermen and non-fishermen can hold fixed quota allocation units (FQAs), but do not have property rights over FQAs. Nonetheless, they are afforded a substantial degree of protection and certainty through the development and operation of the UK's quota management rules, and the Minister's assurance that significant changes will not be made to existing arrangements without full, and proper, consultation. Under current arrangements, there are no restrictions on who may hold FQA units, which reflects historic practice.
	The Sustainable Access to Inshore Fisheries (SAIF) project has been developing proposals for reform of fisheries management in England in order to put the fishing fleet on a more sustainable footing. As part of this work, a wide range of research projects were completed to better understand the social, environmental and economic benefits of the under-10m fleet in particular. The work is also looking at the issue of quota distribution. We are aiming to launch a full public consultation on proposals in spring 2011, and the associated impact assessment will set out the potential impacts of different policy options on the English fleet.

Fisheries

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on total allowable catches and quotas for deep-sea species.

Richard Benyon: The Government recognise the need to ensure the long-term sustainability of these species, by continuing to reduce fishing pressure on them in accordance with scientific advice. Their typical biological characteristics mean most relevant species are thought to be more vulnerable to over-exploitation, and therefore a precautionary approach should be taken. Ministers reached political agreement on appropriate fishing opportunities for certain stocks for 2011 and 2012 (at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting on 29 November 2010) reflecting this.

Fisheries

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the merits of setting a maximum number of hours at sea as a means of maintaining fish stocks and controlling fishing.

Richard Benyon: Some fishing vessels and gear types are currently subject to limitations on fishing effort. These effort limitations are a component of management plans intended to contribute to the recovery of some vulnerable stocks. Effort limits are used to help control fishing as if there is less fishing effort there is also less fishing mortality.
	There has not yet been any formal assessment of the effectiveness of the existing effort management schemes in achieving the objectives of the management plans. However, at the recent December Fisheries Council the Government secured a commitment from the European Commission to a full and detailed review of the long-term management plan for cod in 2011, in particular the restrictions that apply to fishing effort. The European Commission also recently requested its Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries to look at the relationship between fishing effort and fishing mortality for stocks subject to effort management. The results from this analysis have not yet been published but should become available in due course.

Fisheries

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the effect of the current quota system on young fish stocks.

Richard Benyon: EU technical conservation measures set a minimum landing size (MLS) for many commercial fish stocks to protect juvenile fish from being targeted, ensuring they cannot be landed and sold. However, small fish of quota species can still be caught while fishermen are targeting other species; such fish are discarded.
	We estimate that around 24% of discards (England and Wales-2008) are quota species below the legal MLS. To reduce the number of discarded fish scientists work with UK fishermen to improve the selectivity of fishing gears so that less juvenile fish are caught. The Government's fully documented catch quota trials are also a promising way of reducing discards in UK fisheries.

Mercury

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if she will bring forward proposals for a review of mercury abatement legislation;
	(2)  what recent estimate she has made of the cost to industry of compliance with the provisions of mercury abatement legislation;
	(3)  if she will bring forward proposals to introduce a moratorium on the requirement for any further crematoria to comply with the provisions of mercury abatement legislation;
	(4)  if she will estimate the total amount of mercury abated since the provisions of mercury abatement legislation came into force.

Richard Benyon: Policy on reducing mercury emissions from crematoria is kept under regular review. Mercury abatement for 50% of cremations is a proportionate response to tackling a pollutant that has significant health effects-as a neurotoxicant, with the biggest effect on the foetus, newborns and children-as well as damaging ecosystems including fish-eating birds and mammals, Arctic ecosystems, and wetlands.
	The improvements are being delivered by the industry through an innovative burden-sharing scheme. The sector currently advises an increase in the fee per cremation of £45 to cover costs. This compares with 2010 data from AXA that the average cost of a funeral by burial is £2,857, and around £800 less expensive by cremation.
	209,000 cremations will need to be subject to abatement. As at November 2010, 75,000 cremations were abated, with expenditure committed or works under way for a further 109,000.

Salmon: Fish Farming

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on farmed salmon.

Richard Benyon: The UK Government recognise that aquaculture has an important part to play in meeting the needs of European consumers for a sustainable supply of fish and seafood. The Government's policy is to encourage the development of efficient, competitive and sustainable aquaculture industries, while protecting the health status and conservation of UK farmed and wild migratory and freshwater fish, and shellfish.

Salmon: Fish Farming

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the benefit to the economy from the farmed salmon industry; and what estimate she has made of the number of jobs associated with that industry in  (a) Scotland and  (b) the UK.

Richard Benyon: Salmon farming in Scotland supported 1,212 direct jobs in production, and an additional 3,733 full-time, part-time and seasonal jobs in processing in 2008. The Scottish salmon farming industry had a farm gate value of £335.7 million in 2008.
	There is no farming of adult salmon (post smolt) in England and Wales, but a small number of freshwater farms rear smolts for on-growing in Scottish farms and for wild salmon population enhancement. In 2008, Atlantic salmon production in England and Wales comprised some 4 million smolts, with a value of around £1 million.
	In Northern Ireland, the total aquaculture production in 2008 had first sale value of £9.618 million, with £0.469 million of this being for salmon. The aquaculture sector employed 91 full-time and 56 part-time employees, of which 60 were employed in the fin fish sector.

Salmon: Fish Farming

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with  (a) stakeholders and  (b) the Scottish Government on her policy on farmed salmon.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA officials meet regularly with representatives from the Scottish, Northern Irish and Welsh Government, and stakeholder organisations, to discuss key issues facing the aquaculture sector. Most recently, the UK Aquaculture Forum, which brings together a range of interested bodies including government representatives, industry and non-governmental organisations, met on 7 October 2010 and discussed a range of issues relating to aquaculture practices, including salmon farming.
	In addition, DEFRA officials and those from the devolved Governments, as well as stakeholders and industry representatives, participated in the open session on aquaculture at the 27th Annual Meeting of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization on 1 to 4 June 2010.

Salmon: Fish Farming

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effect on the environment in  (a) Scotland and  (b) the UK of practices involved in the farming of salmon.

Richard Benyon: In 2010, the UK Government, including the devolved Administrations, submitted reports to the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation on their management of aquaculture, introductions and transfers, and transgenics for international peer review. The principal environmental concerns that have been identified with salmon farming are transmission of diseases and parasites, particularly sea lice, from reared to wild fish; interbreeding of escaped reared salmon with wild fish in local rivers; and the effects of nutrients and other contaminants on the environment around the farm sites. While these factors remain a concern in Scotland and the UK, there have been considerable developments by the industry to mitigate the effects of their activities.

Seas and Oceans: Environment Protection

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effects on the marine environment of the practice of discard in each region in each year since 1997-98.

Richard Benyon: The ecological impacts of discarding on the ecosystem include the direct effects of discard mortality on fish stocks and the effects of population growth in species that utilise these discards.
	The direct ecological effects of discard mortality are inextricably linked to overall fishing mortality. In the North Sea, excessive fishing mortality has been shown to:
	reduce potential yield from the stocks;
	reduce species diversity;
	change predator-prey interactions;
	change the relative abundance of species.
	Several seabed dwelling species utilise discards. However, evidence for expansion of these populations, as a response to discards, is weak. In general, the full impacts of discarding on marine communities are not well understood, and neither are the consequences of reducing the amount of discarded material. However, it is recognised that removing non-marketable marine organisms from the ecosystem will reduce its health, and is therefore not consistent with good ecosystem management.
	A wide range of scavengers, including seabirds and fishes, are also known to feed on discards. In the North Sea, discarding is estimated to account for up to 10% of the overall annual food consumption of scavengers. This level of contribution is probably sufficient to allow larger populations of these scavenging species to exist than would otherwise be possible. For instance, seabirds are estimated to consume 50% of discarded material; enough to potentially support over 6 million birds.

Tuna: Conservation

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on the use of skipjack tuna in the food supply and retail industry.

Richard Benyon: The UK, through the EU, is a member of a number of UN regional fisheries management bodies, including the International Commission on the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas and the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission. These bodies set specific conservation and management measures, based on scientific advice, aimed at ensuring the sustainable management of tuna stocks. The UK Government continues to use its influence in such fora to press for the use of sustainable fishing methods in order to ensure the long-term future of these stocks.
	Current scientific advice on the status of skipjack tuna stocks means that it has not been necessary to impose any specific management measures on these fisheries.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan: Females

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the issue of rights of women and girls in Afghanistan was discussed at the NATO summit in Lisbon in November 2010.

Alistair Burt: The declaration of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) summit in Lisbon, in November 2010 stressed,
	"the importance of Afghanistan standing by its Constitutional and international obligations on human rights, particularly regarding the rights of women, and the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security."
	The UK will continue to work to improve the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan.
	On my recent visit to Afghanistan I had a meeting with women's rights organisations in Kabul, to express our support for their ongoing engagement with the Afghan Government.

Diplomatic Service: Domestic Service

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what rights diplomatic representatives accredited to the UK have to employ in the UK domestic workers entitled to work in their home countries.

Henry Bellingham: In accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961, foreign diplomats accredited in the UK are entitled to employ domestic workers (foreign or British). Under Article 41 (1) of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations it is the duty of all diplomats:
	'to respect the laws and regulations of the receiving State'.
	This applies to the terms and conditions of employment for all domestic staff.

North Korea: Politics and Government

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the succession of the leadership of North Korea by Kim Jong-un.

Jeremy Browne: It appears that the succession process has begun. We hope that North Korea's leadership will recognise that engagement with the international community is better than isolation and we urge them to make verifiable progress on denuclearisation so that talks between the relevant parties can resume.

Sudan: Referendums

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of reports on the arrangements made for the conduct of the referendum on the independence of southern Sudan.

Henry Bellingham: Arrangements for the referendum on self determination for Southern Sudan have been robust and well led by the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission. Voter registration went smoothly and voting, which started on 9 January, has so far been peaceful. The UK contributed over £11 million to support the referendum process.

Sudan: Referendums

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what representations he made to his Sudanese counterpart on the registration of voters prior to the referendum on independence in that country on 9 January 2011;
	(2)  what recent representations he has made to his Sudanese counterpart on the payment of oil revenues to southern Sudan;
	(3)  what representations he made to his Sudanese counterpart to ensure that the referendum on independence for southern Sudan took place as planned on 9 January 2011.

Henry Bellingham: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary is in regular contact with Sudan partners. He spoke to the President of Southern Sudan, Salva Kiir, on 9 January 2011, and Sudanese Vice President, Ali Osman Taha, on 13 December 2010. He welcomed the progress with the Southern Sudan Referendum with registration complete and polling currently under way. He has also emphasised the importance of the Sudanese parties resolving outstanding issues as quickly as possible, including oil revenues.

UN Agencies: Finance

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much funding his Department provided to the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs in each of the last five years.

Henry Bellingham: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office pays the UK share (6.604%) of the UN regular budget which is agreed biennially. The elements paid by the UK from the UN regular budget to the Office for Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs are as follows:
	
		
			   US$ 
			 2006-07 1,760,000 
			 2008-09 1,970,000 
			 2010-11 1,940,400

UN Agencies: Finance

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much funding his Department provided to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in each of the last five years.

Henry Bellingham: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) pays the UK share (currently 6.604%) of the UN Regular Budget which is negotiated biennially. The elements paid by the UK from the UN Regular Budget to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) biennially are as follows:
	
		
			   US$ 
			 2006-07 4,521,000 
			 2008-09 5,280,000 
			 2010-11 5,525,000 
		
	
	The FCO made other payments to UNHCR for project work as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2006 258,678.67 
			 2007 24,689.17 
			 2008 99,695.66 
			 2009 85,320.95 
			 2010 71,940.78

UN Women

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department made representations at UN level on the proposed composition of the executive board of UN Women.

Jeremy Browne: The UK was actively involved in General Assembly negotiations which established the size and composition of UN Women's Executive Board.
	Elections to the board took place in the UN's Economic and Social Council in November last year. 35 member states drawn from five regional groups were elected to serve on the board, with six others appointed on the basis of their voluntary contributions and their role as emerging donors. The UK will sit on the board for the next five years.
	As board members were elected by member states within their regional groups, no representations were made at UN level on the membership of the executive board. The UK encouraged regional groups to put forward a wide range of candidates for election.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum: Housing

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  which local authorities provide homes to people seeking asylum in the UK under contracts with the UK Border Agency; how many homes each such local authority has provided under such contracts in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many homes were provided to people seeking asylum in the UK in each local authority area, for each type of tenancy in each of the last five years.

Damian Green: Provision of accommodation for eligible asylum seekers is procured through contracts placed with a mixture of private and public sector providers. The UK Border Agency has in some cases contracts with individual local authorities but most of the provision is with consortiums made up of a number of local authorities operating within a specific region of the UK. The following local authorities and consortiums were all contracted to provide accommodation in each of the last five years:
	Glasgow city council
	Liverpool city council
	Cardiff city council
	Swansea city council
	Yorkshire and Humberside consortium
	North East consortium
	North West consortium
	West Midlands consortium.
	The UK Border Agency does not hold the information requested in respect of the number of homes each local authority has provided in each of the last five years. Each contract stipulates a minimum and maximum number of asylum seekers each local authority/consortium is required to accommodate. The UK Border Agency refers individuals to the contractor whose responsibility it is to provide accommodation and related services whilst the service users remain eligible for asylum support. Accommodation providers are not required to make a specific number of homes available but to ensure they can provide suitable accommodation for asylum seekers up to the maximum figure contained within their contract. Payment is made on a per person per night basis and no tenancy agreement is formed.

Asylum: Housing

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department is taking to provide housing to people seeking asylum in the UK who are at risk of losing their current homes following the decision by some city councils not to renew their contracts with the UK Border Agency from June 2011 to house people seeking asylum; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: The UK Border Agency is obliged under the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act to provide accommodation for eligible asylum seekers. The current suite of accommodation contracts expire in 2011 and a recent exercise to reduce the number of contractors in line with the reduction of asylum applications in recent years has meant a number of private sector and local authority/consortium contracts will naturally expire during 2011.
	The agency is working with both existing and remaining providers to ensure that all asylum seekers continue to have their accommodation needs met. The UK Border Agency is committed to working with providers to identify solutions that will minimise any disruption to asylum seekers who may be affected. We have sought commitments from providers that they will look to minimise the number of relocations, particularly for families where there are children at school.
	This may result in a contractual novation of properties allowing asylum seekers to remain in their current accommodation but this can not be guaranteed in all cases. When it is necessary for asylum seekers to move to alternative accommodation provided by a new provider we aim to provide suitable notice and will take into account special requirements to ensure minimum disruption.

Human Trafficking: Arrests

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been arrested for offences related to human trafficking in each year since 2007.

Damian Green: The following figures are based on data taken from the Police National Computer and represent arrests for the period 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2010; they relate to arrests under Sections 57, 58 and 59 of the Sexual Offences Act (SOA) 2003, and under Section 4 of the Asylum and Immigration Act (AIA) 2004.
	
		
			   SOA  AIA  Total 
			 2007 97 27 124 
			 2008 119 77 196 
			 2009 117 99 216 
			 2010 109 91 200

Sexual Offences: Advisory Services

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many independent sexual violence advisers there were in each region in each year since 2005.

Lynne Featherstone: Independent sexual violence advisers (ISVAs) work with victims of recent and historic serious sexual crimes to enable them to access the services they need in the aftermath of the abuse they have experienced. They provide independent support and advocacy throughout and beyond the criminal justice process.
	The information requested is not collected centrally as funding for ISVA posts can come from a range of local and national sources.
	A sub-set of ISVA posts has been partially funded by the Home Office since 2006-07. Details of these posts are as follows:
	
		
			   2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10  2010-11 
			 North-west 6 6 8 7 4 
			 North-east 2 2 2 3 3 
			 East of England 1 1 1 2 2 
			 West midlands 6 6 7 7 10 
			 South-east 1 1 2 2 5 
			 East midlands 2 2 2 4 3 
			 South-west 2 2 3 4 5 
			 London 6 6 5 6 6 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 5 5 4 6 6 
			 Wales 3 3 3 2 0 
			 Total 34 34 37 43 44 
		
	
	Further funding for ISVAs for the period 2011-12 to 2014-15 was announced in November 2010.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Heating

David Winnick: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, 
	(1)  how many offices in Norman Shaw North were heated for all or part of the Christmas adjournment in 2010-11; what the cost was of such heating; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps were taken to ensure the level of heating was reduced in offices on the Commons estate during the Christmas adjournment of 2010-11; and if he will make a statement.

John Thurso: The heating controls in each unoccupied individual office in Norman Shaw North were turned to the minimum setting when attendants completed their duties on 24 December 2010. It is not possible to determine the cost of heating during the adjournment. Similar arrangements were in place across the Commons estate.

Heating

David Winnick: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, how much was spent on heating for the House of Commons estate in  (a) 2009 and  (b) 2010.

John Thurso: The cost of heating the House of Commons estate cannot be identified separately as charges for gas and electricity also include such items as lighting, hot water and catering.

SCOTLAND

Prison Service

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Prison Service on the Government's plans to extend the franchise to prisoners serving sentences of up to four years.

David Mundell: The Government set out their position on the voting rights of prisoners in a statement to Parliament on 20 December 2010,  Official Report, columns 150-51WS. The Government will be working closely with the Scottish Government and others before legislation is introduced on the practical implications of the approach.

Sexual Offences: Victims

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received from groups representing the victims of sexual offences or violent crime in Scotland on the Government's plans to extend the franchise in Parliamentary elections to those serving prison sentences of up to four years.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office has received no such representations. The Government have brought these proposals forward as a result of a court ruling which they are obliged to implement. This is not a choice, it is a legal obligation, and we are ensuring that the most serious offenders will continue to be barred from voting.

JUSTICE

Assisted Prison Visitors Unit

Therese Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost to his Department was of the Assisted Prison Visitors Unit in the latest period for which figures are available; how much of this expenditure was incurred on visits including subsistence to each prison; and how many such visits there were.

Crispin Blunt: The total cost of the Assisted Prison Visits Service in the financial year 2009-10 was £3,016,556. Of this, £2,343,132 (78%) was spent on visits including subsistence. 80,001 applications were made for assistance for visits to prisons in England and Wales in 2009-10 with 73,091 being paid. Visitors' applications are recorded against which prison a visitor wished to visit, but costs are not allocated against individual prisons, and are shown in the following table.
	The Assisted Prison Visits Unit comprises the Assisted Prison Visits Scheme (APVS), the NOMS Prisoner Location Service (PLS) and the NOMS Victim Helpline (VH).
	
		
			  Application for Assisted Prison Visits 2009-10 to English and Welsh prisons-total 79,835 by prison 
			  Prison  Applications 
			 Whatton 1,917 
			 Channings Wood 1,704 
			 Acklington 1,699 
			 Wymott 1,683 
			 Frankland 1,326 
			 Gartree 1,301 
			 Moorland 1,289 
			 Lowdham Grange 1,224 
			 Littlehey 1,182 
			 Hewell 1,156 
			 Swaleside 1,152 
			 Wakefield 1,124 
			 Maidstone 1,114 
			 Wayland 1,101 
			 Long Lartin 1,060 
			 Stafford 1,050 
			 Leyhill 1,046 
			 Risley 1,031 
			 Haverigg 1,028 
			 Everthorpe 1,016 
			 Hull 1,011 
			 Dovegate 1,010 
			 Full Sutton 980 
			 Parc 978 
			 Lindholme 961 
			 Highpoint 955 
			 Swinfen Hall 945 
			 Dartmoor 927 
			 Rye Hill 899 
			 Ranby 887 
			 Garth 886 
			 Kirkham 885 
			 Altcourse 880 
			 The Mount 865 
			 Peterborough 851 
			 Wellingborough 840 
			 Stocken 833 
			 Standford Hill 827 
			 Ashfield 808 
			 Whitemoor 807 
			 Bullingdon 796 
			 Deerbolt 793 
			 Sudbury 787 
			 Albany 743 
			 Glen Parva 711 
			 Usk and Prescoed 708 
			 Rochester 703 
			 Guys Marsh 701 
			 Hollesley Bay 696 
			 Elmley 673 
			 Wolds 662 
			 Woodhill 661 
			 Stoke Heath 659 
			 Camp Hill 647 
			 Portland 639 
			 Wandsworth 610 
			 Aylesbury 594 
			 Erlestoke House 587 
			 Wealstun 581 
			 Durham 575 
			 Downview 553 
			 Featherstone 543 
			 North Sea Camp 520 
			 Blundeston 510 
			 Castington 503 
			 Spring Hill 501 
			 Lancaster Farms 487 
			 Doncaster 445 
			 Holme House 431 
			 Highdown 431 
			 Drake Hall 428 
			 Parkhurst 416 
			 Send 389 
			 Winchester 383 
			 Buckley Hall 377 
			 The Verne 376 
			 Brinsford 368 
			 Norwich 356 
			 Grendon 354 
			 Huntercombe 338 
			 Northallerton 338 
			 Lincoln 331 
			 Chelmsford 330 
			 Styal 329 
			 Kingston 321 
			 Ashwell 310 
			 Bure 294 
			 Liverpool 293 
			 Edmunds Hill 291 
			 Wetherby 290 
			 Belmarsh 289 
			 Thorn Cross 287 
			 Foston Hall 286 
			 Exeter 285 
			 Warren Hill 283 
			 Kirklevington 282 
			 Birmingham 276 
			 Bristol 271 
			 Shepton Mallet 268 
			 Lancaster 267 
			 Bedford 248 
			 New Hall 243 
			 Forest Bank 240 
			 Askham Grange 239 
			 Holloway 233 
			 Feltham 226 
			 Leeds 224 
			 Manchester 222 
			 Gloucester 217 
			 Hindley 212 
			 Bronzefield 208 
			 Kennet 207 
			 Moorland Open 200 
			 Bullwood Hall 181 
			 Eastwood Park 179 
			 Morton Hall 176 
			 Lewes 175 
			 Cardiff 170 
			 Preston 169 
			 Blantyre House 133 
			 Cookham Wood 132 
			 Swansea 121 
			 Canterbury 116 
			 Reading 112 
			 Leicester 101 
			 Werrington 95 
			 Nottingham 93 
			 Dorchester 83 
			 East Sutton Park 81 
			 Onley 769 
			 Coldingley 769 
			 Ford 766 
			 Low Newton 304 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 300 
			 Shrewsbury 295 
			 Brixton 79 
			 Pentonville 64 
			 Latchmere House 59

Prisons: Sentencing

Therese Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners serving a sentence of under four years had previously served a prison sentence.

Crispin Blunt: 20,037 of the 30,786 offenders serving an immediate custodial sentence of less than four years in prison establishments at 30 June 2009 had previously served a custodial sentence. These figures are a further breakdown of table 7.32 in 'Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2009' which was published on 22 July 2010.
	These figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, the police national computer, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prisons: Sentencing

Therese Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners currently serving a sentence of under four years are serving concurrent sentences which, if served consecutively, would result in a prison term of four years or longer.

Crispin Blunt: From the most recent available data, September 2010, the number of prisoners serving sentences of less than four years is 28,770.
	The Ministry of Justice Inmate Information System (IIS) holds information on the prison population under sentence for criminal offences in England and Wales. However, the IIS does not identify concurrent sentences for each prisoner. This detailed information may be held by the courts on individual case files and could be provided only through manual checking of all records at disproportionate cost.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Appeals

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answers of 21 December 2010,  Official Report, columns 1149-1152W, on Appeals, and of 13 December 2010,  Official Report, columns 500-501W, on legal costs, how many appeal cases were heard  (a) with and  (b) without legal representation in each category in each of the last three years; and in what proportion of cases (i) with and (ii) without legal representation the original ruling was upheld.

Jonathan Djanogly: The following tables provide the information requested.
	
		
			   Number of appeals heard with representation  Percentage of those cases where original decision upheld, i.e. case did not succeed  How many appeals heard with no representation  Percentage of those cases where original decision upheld, i.e. case did not succeed 
			  PQs  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			 214: COEG 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 1 100 100 100 
			 236: Bereavement benefit 80 110 95 74 71 82 228 287 280 89 93 94 
			 237: Carer's allowance 285 180 160 62 66 65 845 513 602 86 88 90 
			 238: Child support(1) 535 532 551 43 47 44 2,563 2,698 2,612 53 54 56 
			 239: Discrimination on grounds of religion and belief(2) 36 49 63 90 78 57 100 130 120 92 92 99 
			 240: Discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation(3) 43 33 40 55 82 55 57 92 70 78 90 86 
			 241: Age discrimination 120 150 190 68 85 75 180 300 370 86 87 83 
			 246: Child benefit lone parent allowances 163 155 165 77 72 75 673 759 901 87 89 91 
			 247: Tax credit(4) 93 132 131 74 63 64 420 564 742 92 88 87 
			 248: Compensation Recovery Unit 136 112 107 43 46 50 142 111 118 39 59 58 
			 249(a): Housing Benefit(5) 1,230 1,070 1,255 56 56 62 1,982 1,830 2,518 76 79 81 
			 249(b): Council tax benefit 182 182 170 61 63 68 650 577 723 78 79 83 
			 250(a): Pensions credit 442 384 374 52 57 61 558 500 611 73 80 84 
			 250(b): Health in pregnancy grant 0 0 9 0 0 78 0 0 223 0 0 96 
			 250(c): Incapacity benefit 25,513 27,031 20,265 33 33 33 31,797 35,897 26,936 61 62 60 
			 250(d): Employment support allowance 0 0 16,388 0 0 41 0 27 34,403 0 96 72 
			 250(e): Disability working allowance 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 100 
			 251: Income support 5,142 4,739 4,261 49 51 53 7,688 7,428 7,533 75 76 79 
			 252: Industrial death benefit 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 253: Attendance and disability living allowances 35,862 32,781 30,540 44 46 48 25,320 23,881 24,020 66 69 69 
			 254: Vaccine damage 5 5 1 80 100 0 5 2 2 80 100 100 
			 255: Social Fund-funeral and maternity 506 584 634 74 70 75 1,803 2,219 2,716 89 90 90 
			 256: Severe disablement benefit and allowances 61 44 48 44 48 48 46 41 51 72 56 61 
			 257: Retirement pension 86 77 123 27 74 89 364 338 485 92 93 95 
			 258: Maternity benefits and allowances 8 15 24 88 80 63 50 81 125 94 91 89 
			 259: Jobseeker's allowance 1,274 1,466 2,007 56 57 59 6,237 7,780 15,527 75 78 85 
			 260: Industrial injuries disablement benefit 2,492 2,005 1,707 49 50 48 3,554 3,261 3,163 65 66 66 
			 261: Home responsibilities protection 3 1 4 100 0 100 10 10 10 80 100 90 
		
	
	
		
			  PQs  Tribunal Service Immigration and Asylum (TSIA) appeals not recorded as  " publicly funded "  Percentage  of those cases w here original decision upheld, i .e. case did not succeed  TSIA appeals recorded as " publicly funded "  Percentage  of those cases where original decision upheld,  i .e. case did not succeed 
			   2007-08  2008-09  2009-10  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			 242: Managed migration(6) 18,552 17,506 30,628 66 57 48 924 1,300 1,522 57 54 40 
			 243: Asylum(4) 8,458 5,972 9,432 80 81 75 4,491 4,391 6,442 67 65 63 
			 244: Entry clearance(4) 56,864 72,993 71,314 68 64 64 195 240 458 48 47 35 
			 245:Family visit visas(4) 55,774 55,806 60,187 61 56 56 51 34 93 45 38 47 
			 (1) Includes assessments, referrals, departures and reform cases. (2) The figures are based on the published figures factored according to the percentages provided by COIT in December 2010. (3 )Unrepresented is taken to mean non-legally represented and includes the categories: Blank (no rep), Other, Private individual, CAB and FRU. (4) includes child, disabled person, working family and working tax credit cases. (5) Housing benefit only-excludes housing/council tax combined. (6) Information on whether the appeal is publicly funded is provided by the appellant at the time they submit their appeal. These data may therefore be incomplete, either because the appellant has not advised that the appeal is publicly funded, the information has not been recorded on the database, or legal aid was granted after the appeal is submitted. It is also possible that some cases could be incorrectly identified as publicly funded, for example, where entitlement to legal aid changes after the appeal is submitted. TSIA ceased recording Publicly Funded data for ECO and FVV in February 2010 and for Asylum and MM in May 2010.  Notes: 1. Following numbering of original PQs 214, 236-238, 246-261, we are able to provide details of whether or not appellants had representation and if they were successful (or not) in their appeal. However, information on whether or not there was legal representation, or legal representation funded by legal aid is not available. 2. Following numbering of original PQs 239-241, information is available for legal representation only and there are no details of the number of appeal cases heard that had legal representation funded by legal aid. 3. Following numbering of original PQs 242-245, we are able to provide details of appeal cases heard but not on whether or not the appellant has representation (legal otherwise). Details of the number of publicly funded appeals (legal aid cases) and their success, although available may not be complete nor accurate. We do not hold any data on which cases that were not "publicly funded" were represented. 
		
	
	Information on whether the appeal is publicly funded is provided by the appellant at the time they submit their appeal. These data may therefore be incomplete, either because the appellant has not advised that the appeal is publicly funded, the information has not been recorded on the database, or legal aid was granted after the appeal is submitted. It is also possible that some cases could be incorrectly identified as publicly funded, for example, where entitlement to legal aid changes after the appeal is submitted. TSIA ceased recording Publicly Funded data for ECO and FVV in February 2010 and for Asylum and MM in May 2010.

Court: Closures

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the likely effects of the closure of Lowestoft county court on people in the area.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) that accompanies the consultation response paper for the HMCS area of Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk identifies the potential impacts of the court estate proposals on different communities and groups of people.
	While the court is to close and the administrative work transferred to Norwich county court, hearings will remain at the courthouse. Retaining the building as a hearing centre also enables a part-time counter service as well as information, drop box and copying facilities to remain available for local court users.
	The consultation response papers and impact assessments can be found on the Ministry of Justice website:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/consultations/consultations-closed-with-response.htm

Departmental Manpower

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the likely change in the level of National Offender Management Service staff at prison establishment level consequent on the outcome of the comprehensive spending review; and if he will make a statement.

Crispin Blunt: All the Ministry of Justice's front-line services are currently exploring ways in which they can operate more effectively in order to deliver the savings required in the Government's spending review. Our current estimate is that over the next four years we will need around 10,000 fewer staff in NOMS. This includes around 500-800 posts in NOMS HQ as a result of the organisational restructure designed to reduce back office costs by a third, with the remaining reductions being at prison establishment level. These reductions will be achieved through a combination of front-line efficiencies and reducing prison capacity due to the plans for rebalancing of sentencing set out in our recent Green Paper.

Drugs: Convictions

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what percentage of those convicted of drug-related offences in  (a) 2007,  (b) 2008 and  (c) 2009 had previous convictions for drug-related offences.

Crispin Blunt: Table 1 gives the figures for the percentage of offenders convicted of drug offences in 2007 to 2009 who had previously been convicted for drug offences.
	
		
			  Table 1: Percentage of offenders convicted for drug offences who had previous convictions for drug offences in 2007-09 
			  Year of sentence  Percentage 
			 2007 50.4 
			 2008 51.9 
			 2009 53.4 
		
	
	The figures presented in Table 1 have been taken from the dataset used for Table 6.1 of Sentence Statistics 2009 published by the Ministry of Justice on 24 October 2010. The figures are based on offences of drug possession, supply, production or import/export of drugs. The Ministry of Justice is unable to identify offences which may be drug related but are not specifically drug offences.
	These figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, the police national computer, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police.

Employment Appeal Tribunal: Costs

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the running cost of the Employment Tribunal Service was in the last year for which figures are available.

Jonathan Djanogly: The running costs of the employment tribunal, part of the Tribunals Service, for 2009-10 were £85 million.

Employment Appeal Tribunal: Fees and Charges

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will assess the merits of charging a fee to people likely to bring a case to the employment tribunal service.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Government are aware of proposals that fees for employment tribunal cases and appeals should be introduced. We are considering the matter with colleagues at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills as part of their wider work to review employment law and process. We anticipate making an announcement on these issues shortly.

Employment Appeal Tribunal: Small Business

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to encourage more small business owners to sit on employment tribunal panels.

Jonathan Djanogly: In England and Wales, the Lord Chancellor appoints Employment Tribunal members on merit, after fair and open competition from the widest range of eligible candidates. When making appointments, the Lord Chancellor is concerned that candidates must be selected solely on merit and must be people of good character. Further, in making such appointments, the Lord Chancellor has regard to the need to encourage diversity in the range of persons available for selection for appointments.
	The last recruitment campaign for Employment Tribunal members took place in 2009-10. In addition to an extensive advertising strategy using key publications to attract a diverse range of applicants, the Tribunals Service engaged a range of representative organisations to promote and encourage as wide a pool of applicants as possible.

Ford Prison

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many mobile telephones have been confiscated from prisoners at HM Prison Ford in the last six months.

Crispin Blunt: This issue may form part of the ongoing investigations following the serious disturbance at HMP Ford on 1 January 2011. It would not be appropriate to comment prior to the conclusion of the investigations.

Fraud: Social Security Benefits

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many benefit recipients received a criminal conviction in 2009.

Chris Grayling: I have been asked to reply.
	Information on the number of people convicted of benefit fraud is collated each financial year.
	In 2009-10, 7,040 people were convicted for benefit fraud in DWP administered benefits.
	Information on the number of people convicted for benefit fraud in local authority administered benefits for 2009-10 is not available.

Industrial Disputes: Probation

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many registered disputes there were between the recognised trade unions and probation trusts in England and Wales on the most recent dates for which figures are available.

Crispin Blunt: On the 12 January 2011 there were eight registered disputes reported between the recognised trade unions and the 35 probation trusts in England and Wales.

Legal Aid: Mental Health

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many legal aid clients were assessed under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan Djanogly: We do not hold information on the number of legal aid clients who were assessed under the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
	Information is available concerning the provision of legal aid for matters relating to the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
	Legal representation is available for some Mental Capacity Act 2005 cases brought before the Court of Protection; and Legal Help (initial advice and assistance) is generally available for initial advice and assistance for mental health and mental capacity related issues.
	
		
			  Legal Help 
			  Matters closed 2009-10 
			   Number 
			 Matters relating to the deprivation of liberty 35 
			 Other Mental Capacity Act cases 258 
		
	
	Legal representation (Proceedings before the Court of Protection):
	
		
			  Certificates issued 2009-10 
			   Number 
			 Matters relating to medical treatment 8 
			 Matters relating to issues other than medical treatment 236 
			 Matters relating to the deprivation of liberty 35

Legal Aid: Council Tax

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of council tax debt cases funded through legal aid resulted in  (a) liability contested successfully,  (b) debt written off and  (c) debt reduced in the last 12 months.

Jonathan Djanogly: Legal Representation for unpaid council tax cases in the magistrates court is outside the current scope of the civil legal aid scheme.
	Legal aid is currently available for Legal Help (initial advice and assistance), but the Legal Services Commission's Information Technology systems do not record the level of detail requested.

Legal Aid: Debts

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of credit debt cases funded by legal aid closed with  (a) liability contested successfully,  (b) debt written off and  (c) debt reduced in the last 12 months.

Jonathan Djanogly: We define credit debt cases as those relating to bank loans, credit cards, hire purchase and other regulated debts. The relevant proportions of credit debt cases funded by legal aid for legal help (initial advice and assistance) are:
	 (a) 1.82% of cases where the outcome is reported as liability contested successfully.
	 (b) 2.61% of cases where outcome is reported as debt written off.
	 (c) 1.50% of cases where outcome is reported as debt reduced.
	For legal representation, data are not held at this level of detail.

Prisoners' Release

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many persons have been released on parole licence in each of the last 10 years.

Crispin Blunt: Figures for the number of offenders released on parole licence in each of the last 10 years were published on 22 July 2010 in Offender Management Caseload Statistics (shown in tables 9.5 and 9.6). This can be found in the House Library and at the following link:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/prisonandprobation.htm
	Additionally, the data can be seen in the tables.
	In deciding whether or not to recommend release on license, the Parole Board consider primarily the risk to the public of a further offence being committed at a time when the prisoner would otherwise be in prison and whether any such risk is acceptable. This must be balanced against the benefit, both to the public and the offender, of early release back into the community under a degree of supervision which might help rehabilitation and so lessen the risk of re-offending in the future. The Board take into account that safeguarding the public may often outweigh the benefits to the offender of early release.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	
		
			  Summary of determinate sentence cases considered( 1)  by the Parole Board, England and Wales 
			   1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			  Parole Board cases
			 Cases considered (number) 6,219 5,576 5,514 6,012 6,038 7,297 7,528 6,923 6,012 2,893 1,656 
			 Existing prisoners(2) (number) 83 41 27 15 6 8 7 1 2 4 - 
			 DCR(3) prisoners (number) 6,136 5,535 5,487 5,997 6,032 7,289 7,521 6,922 6,010 2,889 - 
			 
			 Recommended for parole (number) 2,561 2,584 2,791 3,175 3,206 3,794 3,718 2,478 2,157 682 296 
			 Existing prisoners (number) 15 14 11 5 3 1 4 0 1 1 - 
			 DCR(3) prisoners (number) 2,546 2,570 2,780 3,170 3,203 3,793 3,714 2,478 2,156 681 - 
			 
			 Percentage of cases recommended out of those considered for parole 41 46 51 53 53 52 49 36 36 24 18 
			 Existing prisoners (%) 18 34 41 33 50 13 57 0 50 25 - 
			 DCR(3) prisoners (%) 41 46 51 53 53 52 49 36 36 24 - 
			 (1) Data for 2009 are based on information recorded on the central prison IT system on 30 April 2010. Further updates and amendments may be made to records on this system in future resulting in revised figures. (2) Existing prisoners refers to prisoners serving sentences prior to the commencement of the Criminal Justice Act 1991. There are now very few such prisoners, so from 2009 the figures for existing and DCR prisoners are no longer shown separately. (3) DCR is discretionary conditional release. 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of first releases from prison on life licence and indeterminate sentence for public protection, England and Wales 
			  Number 
			   Year of first release 
			   1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 Total released 120 113 122 144 223 205 200 135 146 138 195 
			 
			 Mandatory lifers 110 101 111 117 185 152 156 100 90 98 73 
			 
			 Other lifers 10 12 11 27 38 53 44 35 56 40 69 
			 
			 Indeterminate sentences for Public Protection (IPP)(1) - - - - - - - 3 13 36 53 
			 (1) IPPs were introduced in 2005 and the first release from prison for a prisoner serving an IPP sentence was in 2006.

Prisoners: Payments

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many individual payments to prisoners have been made in the most recent year for which figures are available; and how much each such prisoner received.

Crispin Blunt: The National Offender Management Service made 3,166 individual compensation payments to prisoners in the financial year 2009-10. The amount and number of payments made are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Payment band  Number of payments  Total payments for band (£) 
			 £0 to £1,000 2,732 228,174 
			 £1,001 to £5,000 262 699,362 
			 £5,001 to £10,000 97 700,590 
			 £10,001 to £20,000 41 573,340 
			 £20,001 to £50,000 30 925,730 
			 £50,001 to £100,000 2 135,000 
			 £100,001 to £250,000 2 252,228 
			 £250,001 to over 0 0 
			 Totals 3,166 3,514,424 
		
	
	The amounts of individual payments have not been provided in order to prevent the possible identification of prisoners.

Prisons: Construction

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he plans to  (a) build new prisons or  (b) add accommodation in existing prisons in the period to the end of the financial year 2014-15.

Crispin Blunt: As part of the existing "Capacity Programme", we are continuing to build the new prison places to which we are contractually committed. New prisons are being built at Featherstone in Staffordshire and Belmarsh West in the London borough of Greenwich. We expect both prisons to be complete in 2012. We are also expanding Buckley Hall in Lancashire and Moorland in South Yorkshire; these places will become operational in 2011.
	The New Prisons Programme which planned five new 1,500 place prisons remains under consideration with particular examination of how plans should be adapted to meet the Government's objectives of work in prisons and rehabilitation outlined in the Green Paper "Breaking the Cycle: Effective Punishment, Rehabilitation and Sentencing of Offenders". However, any places from this programme are unlikely to become available by 2014-15.

Remand in Custody: Young People

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 13 December 2010,  Official Report, column 506W, on remand in custody: young people, whether he expects information on the number of looked after children who are received into the secure estate to be collected centrally under his Department's new data strategy; and if he will make a statement.

Crispin Blunt: The data strategy is out for consultation, but does not propose central collection of the number of looked after children who are received into the secure estate.

Reoffenders

Therese Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the reoffending rate is for each  (a) prison and  (b) young offender institution.

Crispin Blunt: The individual prison reoffending rates for 2007 are shown in the tables as published by the Ministry of Justice in the Compendium of Reoffending Statistics and Analysis in November 2010.
	The tables show reoffending rates for each prison in 2007 presented by prison category and prison sentence length (under 12 months and 12 months and over sentences).
	The reoffending rates provided have been calculated based on the prison from which an offender was discharged and ignores the time spent at other institutions during that sentence.
	The tables also show the average number of previous offences, average number of custodial sentences and the average age of the offenders discharged from each prison in 2007. This illustrates that different prisons can have populations with a substantially different likelihood of reoffending.
	Young offender institution reoffending rates are not included, as the work published to date only considered adult prisons.
	More information on the individual prison reoffending rates is available from the Ministry of Justice website.
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/compendium-reoffending.htm
	
		
			  Category B prisons 
			  Under 12 months sentences 
			  Prison  Number of offenders  Reoffending rate  (percentage)  Average number of previous offences  Average number of previous custodial sentences  Average age 
			 All 12 * * * * 
			 Albany 1 * * * * 
			 Dovegate 1 * * * * 
			 Garth 1 * * * * 
			 Gartree 0 * * * * 
			 Grendon 1 * * * * 
			 Kingston (Portsmouth) 0 * * * * 
			 Lowdham Grange 2 * * * * 
			 Parkhurst 5 * * * * 
			 Rye Hill 1 * * * * 
			 Swaleside 0 * * * * 
		
	
	
		
			  12 months and over sentences 
			  Prison  Number of offenders  Reoffending rate (percentage)  Average number of previous offences  Average number of previous custodial sentences  Average age 
			 All 200 26.5 38 5 39 
			 Albany 18 * * * * 
			 Dovegate 40 * * * * 
			 Garth 41 * * * * 
			 Gartree 0 * * * * 
			 Grendon 6 * * * * 
			 Kingston (Portsmouth) 0 * * * * 
			 Lowdham Grange 39 * * * * 
			 Parkhurst 26 * * * * 
			 Rye Hill 26 * * * * 
			 Swaleside 4 * * * * 
		
	
	
		
			  Category C prisons 
			  Under 12 months sentences 
			  Prison  Number of offenders  Reoffending rate (percentage)  Average number of previous offences  Average number of previous custodial sentences  Average age 
			 All 4,858 57.1 42.7 5.5 31.8 
			 Acklington 90 61.1 61.6 7.5 32.7 
			 Ashwell 54 51.9 45.9 5.9 31.3 
			 Blundeston 40 * * * * 
			 Brockhill 124 46.0 42.3 5.7 32.5 
			 Buckley Hall 32 * * * * 
			 Bullwood Hall 75 38.7 9.8 1.5 33.0 
			 Camp Hill 96 62.5 53.7 6.0 30.7 
			 Canterbury 85 38.8 8.5 1.1 33.6 
			 Channings Wood 128 53.1 51.2 6.3 32.3 
			 Coldingley 8 * * * * 
			 Dartmoor 86 47.7 60.2 6.5 34.8 
			 Edmunds Hill 429 55.2 34.2 5.0 33.5 
			 Elmley 418 73.9 41.4 6.1 32.5 
			 Erlestoke 59 55.9 54.1 6.2 29.9 
			 Everthorpe 322 59.6 44.2 5.2 30.5 
			 Featherstone 50 * * * * 
			 Guys Marsh 232 65.9 46.9 5.2 29.8 
			 Haverigg 185 60.5 46.1 5.5 31.4 
			 Highpoint 136 61.0 32.3 5.3 31.8 
			 Kennet 53 56.6 46.9 6.2 32.2 
			 Lancaster 48 * * * * 
			 Lindholme 325 63.7 46.1 5.5 31.9 
			 Littlehey 26 * * * * 
			 Maidstone 10 * * * * 
			 Moorland 97 55.7 44.0 5.2 27.9 
			 Mount 6 * * * * 
			 Onley 246 65.0 39.2 5.0 27.6 
			 Ranby 440 62.3 51.4 6.8 31.9 
			 Risley 125 55.2 50.6 7.2 30.0 
			 Shepton Mallet 0 * * * * 
			 Stafford 78 43.6 37.6 4.8 33.5 
			 Stocken 109 56.0 48.2 6.0 32.7 
			 Usk 9 * * * * 
			 Verne 5 * * * * 
			 Wayland 108 51.9 43.0 6.6 33.2 
			 Wealstun 371 43.4 31.4 3.2 31.6 
			 Weare 0 * * * * 
			 Wellingborough 47 * * * * 
			 Whatton 21 * * * * 
			 Wolds 22 * * * * 
			 Wymott 63 33.3 38.1 4.8 34.2 
		
	
	
		
			  12 months and over sentences 
			  Prison  Number of offenders  Reoffending rate  (percentage)  Average number of previous offences  Average number of previous custodial sentences  Average age 
			 All 7,560 26.5 30.8 3.7 34.6 
			 Acklington 377 25.2 33.8 3.7 36.0 
			 Ashwell 167 23.4 26.7 3.0 32.6 
			 Blundeston 103 31.1 28.1 3.5 32.0 
			 Brockhill 69 20.3 25.5 3.1 31.9 
			 Buckley Hall 117 23.9 41.3 5.5 33.3 
			 Bullwood Hall 22 * * * * 
			 Camp Hill 217 26.3 31.9 3.9 32.4 
			 Canterbury 30 * * * * 
			 Channings Wood 258 27.9 35.7 4.1 36.8 
			 Coldingley 37 * * * * 
			 Dartmoor 249 27.7 34.4 4.2 37.2 
			 Edmunds Hill 221 33.5 29.1 4.3 33.3 
			 Elmley 177 35.6 29.5 3.6 36.0 
			 Erlestoke 115 22.6 38.4 4.1 33.0 
			 Everthorpe 359 34.8 38.3 4.1 29.8 
			 Featherstone 198 24.2 31.9 4.0 32.9 
			 Guys Marsh 213 39.0 38.5 4.4 33.3 
			 Haverigg 221 37.6 42.7 5.1 32.2 
			 Highpoint 208 29.8 24.9 3.6 32.8 
			 Kennet 17 * * * * 
			 Lancaster 109 33.9 52.9 7.1 33.8 
			 Lindholme 365 35.3 38.6 4.5 31.2 
			 Littlehey 201 9.0 17.7 2.3 44.3 
			 Maidstone 81 19.8 16.1 1.9 41.0 
			 Moorland 245 31.8 32.9 3.7 29.2 
			 Mount 58 25.9 27.4 3.6 35.0 
			 Onley 216 32.9 28.2 3.6 29.4 
			 Ranby 414 33.1 34.7 4.2 32.1 
			 Risley 387 30.7 33.6 4.3 33.4 
			 Shepton Mallet 1 * * * * 
			 Stafford 250 23.2 24.0 2.9 38.7 
			 Stocken 207 25.6 35.9 4.6 32.2 
			 Usk 98 11.2 10.9 1.1 45.5 
			 Verne 55 18.2 30.4 4.1 38.5 
			 Wayland 183 21.3 27.3 3.4 34.8 
			 Wealstun 388 16.2 25.4 2.9 34.9 
			 Weare 0 * * * * 
			 Wellingborough 186 26.9 28.7 3.3 31.6 
			 Whatton 245 2.0 9.0 1.0 47.1 
			 Wolds 118 27.1 39.2 4.7 32.3 
			 Wymott 378 17.7 24.3 3.0 39.6 
		
	
	
		
			  High security prisons 
			  Under 12 months sentences 
			  Prison  Number of offenders  Reoffending rate (percentage)  Average number of previous offences  Average number of previous custodial sentences  Average age 
			 All 0 * * * * 
			 Frankland 0 * * * * 
			 Full Sutton 0 * * * * 
			 Long Lartin 0 * * * * 
			 Wakefield 0 * * * * 
			 Whitemoor 0 * * * * 
		
	
	
		
			  12 months and over sentences 
			  Prison  Number of offenders  Reoffending rate (percentage)  Average number of previous offences  Average number of previous custodial sentences  Average age 
			 All 76 2.6 29.4 3.9 47.9 
			 Frankland 32 * * * * 
			 Full Sutton 24 * * * * 
			 Long Lartin 3 * * * * 
			 Wakefield 11 * * * * 
			 Whitemoor 6 * * * * 
		
	
	
		
			  Female prisons 
			  Under 12 months sentences 
			  Prison  Number of offenders  Reoffending rate (percentage)  Average number of previous offences  Average number of previous custodial sentences  Average age 
			 All 4,021 66.5 41.9 4.4 31.0 
			 Bronzefield 541 66.9 39.2 4.5 32.3 
			 Cookham Wood 54 51.9 36.2 4.1 35.3 
			 Downview 54 50.0 32.0 3.3 33.3 
			 Drake Hall 200 47.5 30.0 2.8 32.3 
			 Eastwood Park 587 70.2 41.3 4.2 29.5 
			 Foston Hall 230 67.8 45.7 4.6 30.8 
			 Holloway 636 62.1 34.2 4.6 30.6 
			 Low Newton 241 75.5 52.9 4.8 29.6 
			 Morton Hall 33 * * * * 
			 New Hall 435 76.6 42.8 4.4 30.1 
			 Peterborough Female 502 62.9 36.4 3.4 30.6 
			 Send 13 * * * * 
			 Styal 495 72.3 61.7 6.5 32.1 
		
	
	
		
			  12 months and over sentences 
			  Prison  Number of offenders  Reoffending rate (percentage)  Average number of previous offences  Average number of previous custodial sentences  Average age 
			 All 1,083 24.1 23.1 1.9 32.0 
			 Bronzefield 35 * * * * 
			 Cookham Wood 44 * * * * 
			 Downview 108 20.4 16.9 1.6 34.5 
			 Drake Hall 161 8.7 16.4 0.9 33.7 
			 Eastwood Park 68 22.1 15.6 0.8 29.9 
			 Foston Hall 64 23.4 20.9 2.4 32.1 
			 Holloway 80 37.5 26.1 2.2 28.0 
			 Low Newton 100 36.0 30.4 2.4 29.1 
			 Morton Hall 79 7.6 11.5 0.8 38.4 
			 New Hall 88 39.8 36.6 3.3 29.3 
			 Peterborough Female 102 34.3 22.0 1.6 31.0 
			 Send 46 * * * * 
			 Styal 108 28.7 34.3 3.3 30.7 
		
	
	
		
			  Male local prisons 
			  Under 12 months sentences 
			  Prison  Number of offenders  Reoffending rate (percentage)  Average number of previous offences  Average number of previous custodial sentences  Average age 
			 All 24,311 67.3 48.0 6.5 32.0 
			 Altcourse 1,138 66.3 48.2 6.3 31.5 
			 Bedford 647 59.5 34.8 5.1 32.8 
			 Belmarsh 508 65.2 37.0 6.5 33.3 
			 Birmingham 1,136 67.9 47.5 6.8 32.1 
			 Blakenhurst 985 67.1 46.9 6.7 32.1 
			 Bristol 481 71.5 63.0 7.6 33.3 
			 Brixton 661 66.1 37.3 6.6 34.4 
			 Bullingdon 608 66.4 46.0 5.5 32.4 
			 Cardiff 460 67.2 61.4 7.3 32.1 
			 Chelmsford 689 69.7 41.0 6.2 30.4 
			 Doncaster 1,204 68.9 46.2 5.4 29.2 
			 Dorchester 237 74.7 60.6 9.8 33.9 
			 Durham 747 70.4 61.9 7.1 31.7 
			 Exeter 755 70.3 48.2 6.1 31.5 
			 Forest Bank 861 67.4 55.5 8.1 31.9 
			 Gloucester 295 74.6 59.3 7.2 32.4 
			 High Down 542 71.2 40.9 5.6 30.9 
			 Holme House 743 71.5 61.9 7.9 31.4 
			 Hull 546 73.8 51.8 6.7 29.2 
			 Leeds 810 74.0 56.1 7.5 32.2 
			 Leicester 435 64.8 46.7 6.2 32.2 
			 Lewes 420 69.3 49.9 6.3 33.1 
			 Lincoln 551 67.0 48.7 5.9 32.5 
			 Liverpool 1,515 64.2 49.4 6.7 33.1 
			 Manchester 889 64.6 52.0 7.6 33.1 
			 Norwich 454 68.1 37.8 4.6 28.1 
			 Nottingham 444 69.6 54.5 8.1 33.1 
			 Parc 605 67.4 40.4 4.6 25.2 
			 Pentonville 766 69.2 35.1 6.1 33.8 
			 Peterborough Male 544 62.9 45.7 6.9 32.8 
			 Preston 510 69.4 61.7 8.0 33.6 
			 Shrewsbury 276 64.9 43.0 5.9 32.0 
			 Swansea 359 65.7 60.3 7.2 31.4 
			 Wandsworth 630 65.7 41.7 7.5 34.6 
			 Winchester 398 65.3 53.8 6.0 34.0 
			 Woodhill 541 62.3 44.0 5.6 31.6 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 921 59.4 31.6 5.3 34.4 
		
	
	
		
			  12 months and over sentences 
			  Prison  Number of offenders  Reoffending rate (percentage)  Average number of previous offences  Average number of previous custodial sentences  Average age 
			 All 5,360 38.0 37.0 4.4 33.3 
			 Altcourse 327 26.9 30.3 3.6 31.7 
			 Bedford 68 35.3 28.3 3.4 33.1 
			 Belmarsh 81 37.0 30.2 4.6 32.7 
			 Birmingham 290 33.1 33.9 4.5 33.0 
			 Blakenhurst 136 41.9 35.3 3.8 31.6 
			 Bristol 66 47.0 51.2 5.6 35.5 
			 Brixton 57 54.4 40.3 6.7 39.3 
			 Bullingdon 208 29.3 26.7 2.9 34.8 
			 Cardiff 138 36.2 48.3 5.1 32.0 
			 Chelmsford 90 33.3 30.6 4.4 31.4 
			 Doncaster 198 39.9 40.1 4.3 31.3 
			 Dorchester 31 * * * * 
			 Durham 178 43.8 43.9 4.8 33.0 
			 Exeter 70 44.3 39.4 4.6 33.5 
			 Forest Bank 196 46.4 45.7 5.9 32.1 
			 Gloucester 51 45.1 52.7 6.2 34.7 
			 High Down 95 26.3 35.2 4.4 34.8 
			 Holme House 259 40.2 39.5 4.5 31.5 
			 Hull 200 30.0 34.7 3.6 38.6 
			 Leeds 173 50.9 46.1 5.8 33.1 
			 Leicester 42 * * * * 
			 Lewes 142 54.9 48.5 5.9 33.1 
			 Lincoln 126 45.2 45.9 4.9 34.5 
			 Liverpool 339 38.3 39.4 4.9 32.9 
			 Manchester 175 34.9 35.7 4.9 33.3 
			 Norwich 141 33.3 29.3 3.4 31.6 
			 Nottingham 60 48.3 47.9 5.2 33.7 
			 Parc 364 40.4 31.1 3.2 28.7 
			 Pentonville 84 31.0 19.5 3.1 34.3 
			 Peterborough Male 140 35.0 32.5 3.9 34.0 
			 Preston 171 45.6 52.5 5.6 32.8 
			 Shrewsbury 38 * * * * 
			 Swansea 108 37.0 46.9 4.5 32.3 
			 Wandsworth 148 25.0 24.1 3.8 40.0 
			 Winchester 133 30.8 33.7 4.0 36.7 
			 Woodhill 96 40.6 34.6 4.2 33.9 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 141 40.4 26.9 4.5 35.0 
		
	
	
		
			  Open prisons 
			  Under 12 months sentences 
			  Prison  Number of offenders  Reoffending rate (percentage)  Average number of previous offences  Average number of previous custodial sentences  Average age 
			 All 3,126 38.3 26.1 2.9 33.3 
			 Askham Grange 12 * * * * 
			 Blantyre House 1 * * * * 
			 East Sutton Park 11 * * * * 
			 Ford 410 41.7 27.8 3.0 34.0 
			 Hewell Grange 123 32.5 27.2 3.3 34.1 
			 Hollesley Bay 276 36.6 18.7 1.9 31.7 
			 Kirkham 573 36.1 28.0 3.3 32.9 
			 Kirklevington 8 * * * * 
			 Latchmere House 1 * * * * 
			 Leyhill 396 40.9 30.2 3.3 34.5 
			 Moorland Open 56 28.6 24.5 1.9 32.7 
			 North Sea Camp 436 40.1 26.5 2.9 32.8 
			 Prescoed 107 40.2 28.8 3.1 31.9 
			 Spring Hill 172 26.7 21.1 2.1 35.6 
			 Standford Hill 397 41.8 22.9 3.0 33.5 
			 Sudbury 147 42.2 29.4 3.4 31.1 
		
	
	
		
			  12 months and over sentences 
			  Prison  Number of offenders  Reoffending rate (percentage)  Average number of previous offences  Average number of previous custodial sentences  Average age 
			 All 2,950 9.2 15.4 1.7 35.7 
			 Askham Grange 91 6.6 13.2 0.9 33.7 
			 Blantyre House 26 * * * * 
			 East Sutton Park 70 5.7 5.9 0.3 36.2 
			 Ford 269 6.3 13.9 1.4 35.7 
			 Hewell Grange 130 6.9 16.4 1.7 35.5 
			 Hollesley Bay 238 9.2 14.9 1.7 35.2 
			 Kirkham 390 9.7 16.9 1.9 35.4 
			 Kirklevington 122 6.6 13.6 1.3 34.3 
			 Latchmere House 95 5.3 12.8 1.9 40.0 
			 Leyhill 242 12.0 17.1 1.6 37.3 
			 Moorland Open 192 10.9 17.7 2.0 34.0 
			 North Sea Camp 179 15.1 17.7 1.8 35.7 
			 Prescoed 107 9.3 18.4 1.7 35.2 
			 Spring Hill 195 5.6 14.7 1.5 35.4 
			 Standford Hill 263 10.3 14.0 1.8 36.0 
			 Sudbury 341 11.1 16.0 1.7 35.5

Unfair Dismissal

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many employees have taken their employer to an employment tribunal for unfair dismissal where no grounds for dismissal have been given and where the dismissal took place after the employee had been employed for more than 12 months but less than two years in each of the last five years.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Tribunals Service publishes statistics annually and quarterly, including information on the types of complaints made to employment tribunals. The following table shows the number of unfair dismissal claims lodged with (or 'accepted') and determined or otherwise resolved ('disposed') in each of the last five complete financial years.
	Data on whether or not grounds for dismissal were given in such cases, or statistics on the claimants' length of service, are not collated centrally. This information could only be provided at a disproportionate cost by manually checking individual case files and records.
	
		
			  Unfair dismissal claims accepted and disposed 2005 to 2010 
			   Jurisdictional claims accepted  Jurisdictional claims disposed 
			 2005-06 41,800 35,400 
			 2006-07 44,500 38,400 
			 2007-08 40,900 37,000 
			 2008-09 52,700 39,400 
			 2009-10 57,400 50,900

Volunteers and Lay Advisers

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he plans to ensure that volunteers and lay advisers who provide legal advice have a minimum qualification level; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Government have no plans to ensure that volunteers and lay advisers who provide legal advice have a minimum qualification at this time.
	There are reviews planned in the legal services sector however which may impact on the future provision of legal advice. The first is that the Legal Services Board, the oversight regulator for legal services, will in the next year undertake a review to assess whether the scope of regulation is set appropriately to protect consumers. The second is that the three largest legal regulators (the Solicitors Regulation Authority, Bar Standards Board and Institute for Legal Executives Professional Standards) are currently undertaking a review of regulatory requirements in relation to the education and training of the legal workforce. One of the issues the review will consider is whether regulatory requirements should be put in place in relation to the training and competence of individuals who are not qualified lawyers but who work in regulated organisations.

Young Offenders

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many young offenders were in custody in England and Wales (a) in December 1996,  (b) in December 2009 and  (c) on the most recent date for which figures are available.

Crispin Blunt: Figures are provided in the following table and the data have been supplied by the Youth Justice Board (YJB). The YJB started collecting data on the number of young people in custody in England and Wales in April 2000 and it is not possible to provide comparable data from before that date. Data for December 2009 are provisional and will be finalised and published in the 2009-10 Youth Justice statistics. The most recent provisional data available are for October 2010.
	The figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing and may be subject to change over time.
	
		
			   Number of young people under 18 in custody 
			 April 2000 (earliest data available) 2,610 
			 December 2009 2,203 
			 October 2010 (latest provisional data available) 1,995

TRANSPORT

Bus Services: Finance

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the likely effect on future levels of local authority funding for bus services of the implementation of the proposal to reduce the Bus Service Operators Grant.

Norman Baker: Around 20% of local bus services in England outside London are provided under tender to the relevant local authority. It is possible that bus operators may seek higher funding levels from local authorities in future tender bids as a result of the reduction in Bus Service Operators Grant. However, it is up to local authorities to decide whether or not they wish to continue to fund tendered services in the light of available resources and local priorities.
	The simplification of local transport funding undertaken through the spending review will give local authorities greater flexibility, enabling solutions to be tailored for the specific needs and circumstances of individual communities.

Mayor of London

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what  (a) meetings and  (b) discussions he has had with the Mayor of London during the winter weather of November and December 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: The Secretary of State for Transport discussed the impact of winter weather on transport during a telephone conversation with the Mayor on Friday 3 December 2010. The Secretary of State had a further telephone conversation with the Mayor in the week ending 24 December 2010. The Secretary of State also spoke to Daniel Moylan on 18 December 2010 and has had frequent e-mail contact with him since.
	The Department for Transport has maintained contact with Transport for London and London Underground since before the start of the period of severe winter weather.

Plugged-In Places

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans to announce the outcome of the Plugged-In Places scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: The Secretary of State for Transport announced the outcome of the second round of Plugged-In Places funding on 14 December 2010. Five projects were successful, based in Northern Ireland, Central Scotland, Greater Manchester, the Midlands and the East of England. These supplement the three existing projects in London, Milton Keynes and the North East.
	The outcomes of these projects will inform the development of national policy regarding electric vehicle infrastructure, with a strategy for promoting the installation of charging infrastructure due to be published in June 2011.

Railway Stations: Disability

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking with  (a) Network Rail and  (b) train operating companies to improve the compliance of railway stations with legal requirements for access for disabled passengers.

Norman Baker: The Equality Act 2010 requires service providers, including Network Rail and train operators, to make reasonable adjustments so that disabled people are not at a substantial disadvantage when using their services.
	In addition, European and UK-wide accessible standards in the Department for Transport's publication, "Accessible Train Station Design for Disabled People: A Code of Practice" should be followed whenever station infrastructure is renewed or installed. This is available on the Department for Transport's website at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/transportforyou/access/rail/railstations/accessiblestationdesigns/
	In 2006, the previous Government launched the Railways for All strategy which included a £370 million Access for All fund for improvements to stations, in addition to the commitments in rail franchises, and major upgrades or renewals, to accelerate this process. The coalition Government are continuing with the published Access for All Programme.

Railway Stations: Repairs and Maintenance

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funds his Department makes available for improvements in rail station access and infrastructure; and whether Silverdale Station in Lancashire is eligible to receive such funding.

Norman Baker: Funding for improvements to general station infrastructure is available through the National Stations Improvement Programme (NSIP). Adding Silverdale to this programme would be a decision for Northern Rail, but it would need to be at the expense of a station already included.
	In addition, since 2006, funding for station accessibility improvements has been available through the Access for All Small Schemes Programme and, in 2007, £27,500 was offered to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds to provide a ramp to improve access to Silverdale station. Unfortunately the scheme was later withdrawn and no further bids for funding have been received.

Railway Stations: Richmond upon Thames

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funds allocated to improving rail platforms in the 2010 spending review will be spent in Richmond Park constituency.

Theresa Villiers: The detailed allocation of funding for platform improvements is a matter for Network Rail. Network Rail is funded to deliver a range of solutions, but the nature of these improvements will depend on the service changes proposed by the train operating companies to deliver the additional passenger capacity that the Government wish to provide.

Railway Stations: Richmond upon Thames

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the level of overcrowding on commuter rail services which serve stations in Richmond Park constituency.

Theresa Villiers: Train operating companies submit morning and evening peak train plans to the Department for Transport for May and December timetable changes each year. Overcrowding levels are assessed by comparing counts of passengers against the plans. The assessment informs the plans for the next timetable iteration and the deployment of train capacity. These assessments contain commercially confidential information and are not published, but the Department uses the data as the base for strategic forecasts of peak demand change. The latest assessment for South West Trains, which operates services serving stations in Richmond Park constituency, was for the December 2010 timetable change.
	London Overground also operates services in Richmond Park constituency. London Overground is franchised by Transport for London who would carry out any assessment of the level of overcrowding on these services.

Railways: Crimes of Violence

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many arrests relating to violence on trains were made in  (a) 2007,  (b) 2008 and  (c) 2009.

Theresa Villiers: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer to him of 20 December 2010,  Official Report, column 996W.

Railways: Finance

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the average amount of funding from the public purse  (a) per kilometre and  (b) per journey provided for rail travel (i) originating from Bedford, (ii) using the Thameslink line and (iii) nationally in the last 12 months.

Theresa Villiers: Train operator subsidies and support are calculated in accordance with franchise agreements and are not broken down by specific route.
	Data on total subsidies and premiums paid or received by franchised train operators is available in National Rail Trends (NRT) which is published by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR). This data includes a calculation of subsidy per passenger kilometre for each individual franchise as well as nationally. National Rail Trends is available in the Library of the House and on the Office of Rail Regulation website at:
	www.rail-reg.gov.uk

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he plans to take to reduce the level of roadworks in London; and if he will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: It is for Transport for London and the London borough councils to manage and co-ordinate the works that are carried out on their highways.
	There are a number of legislative and non-legislative tools available to local highway authorities to manage these works. The Department for Transport's business plan, available at:
	www.dft.gov.uk
	includes a number of proposals to enhance these tools, for example the introduction of lane rental schemes and discussions on these proposals continues with Transport for London representatives of local government, and the Mayor.

Roads: Tyres

Steven Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the merits of  (a) mandatory and  (b) voluntary adoption of winter tyres on British roads.

Michael Penning: The Department for Transport has not undertaken a formal assessment on the merits of a mandatory requirement for drivers to fit winter tyres when driving on British roads.
	It is appropriate for drivers rather than Government to make that decision about tyre choice and factors such as the costs of purchasing winter tyres, storing the original set of tyres, and refitting them when the conditions improve will be part of their consideration. The tyre industry provides advice and guidance to help people make that choice.

Rolling Stock: Greater London

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussion his Department has had with train operating companies on rolling stock for the London to Malvern train service which will operate on both electrified and non-electrified track.

Theresa Villiers: The Department for Transport has recently discussed with First Great Western the two leading options for rolling stock for the Great Western Main Line that were identified by the Secretary of State on 25 November.

South West Trains

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when his Department expects to complete negotiations with Stagecoach South West Trains for the delivery of additional passenger capacity and longer trains on the route to London Waterloo by 2014.

Theresa Villiers: Following the announcement by the Secretary of State for Transport on 25 November 2010 that additional carriages would be provided into Waterloo, the Department for Transport has recommenced discussions with Stagecoach South Western Trains. As these are commercial negotiations it is not possible to give a firm completion date at this stage. However, we are seeking to reach a commercial agreement in 2011 with Stagecoach South Western Trains, which provides value for money and affordability to the tax payer and will deliver additional carriages by 2014.

Transport: Standards

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what methods other than cost-benefit ratios his Department uses to appraise and rank transport projects;
	(2)  what weight his Department proposes to give in appraising and ranking transport projects to the assessment of effects on  (a) physical activity and obesity,  (b) journey-time reliability,  (c) gross value added to the economy,  (d) carbon dioxide emissions and  (e) time savings by users;
	(3)  whether the proposed changes to appraisal methodology for transport projects will include  (a) an assessment of the size and distribution of time savings to users and  (b) consideration of the effects on the level of carbon dioxide emissions.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport's approach to appraising proposed transport schemes involves identifying a wide range of economic, environmental, and social impacts. An overview is available at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/webtag/documents/overview/unit1.1.php
	Benefit-cost ratios (BCRs), after adjustment for non-monetised impacts, are used to inform the economic case through a value for money assessment. Scheme decisions are taken on the strength of their overall business case, of which the economic case is one part.
	The impacts of a scheme on: physical activity and obesity; journey time reliability; carbon dioxide emissions; and, time savings by users are reported in the Appraisal Summary Table (AST). Impacts on GVA are captured within these and other categories in the table.
	In line with HM Treasury's Green Book appraisal guidance, wherever possible, impacts are monetised using evidence-based values. The size of each impact, and its monetary value, determine its contribution to a scheme's BCR, before it is adjusted for non-monetised impacts in the value for money assessment. However, the presentation of the impacts in the AST allows the decision maker to form their own view over each impact's relative importance, when considering the overall business case.
	Last year, the Department for Transport issued 'in draft' scheme appraisal guidance requiring scheme promoters to report how benefits from travel time changes break down into time bands, one of which is zero to two minutes per trip. The guidance is available at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/webtag/documents/expert/pdf/unit3.5.3d.pdf
	At the same time, the Department for Transport also published updated 'in-draft' guidance to reflect the current carbon prices that were based on the then current guidance from the Department for Energy and Climate Change. These carbon prices are provided in Table 2a of the 'In Draft' 'Greenhouse Gases Sub-Objective' guidance available at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/webtag/documents/expert/pdf/unit3.3.5d.pdf
	These 'in draft' carbon prices were used for the appraisal of schemes during the spending review, to ensure decisions were informed by the most up-to-date values of carbon impacts.
	The Department for Transport's Business Plan for 2011-15 states it will reform the way transport projects are assessed, and funding prioritisation decisions are made, so that the benefits of low carbon proposals are fully recognised. This includes reviewing and revising its guidance on appraising transport projects, as well as its processes for assessing schemes and supporting ministerial decisions. We aim to announce the scope and timetable of this review shortly.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Attendance Allowance

Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will bring forward proposals for the introduction of a mobility component for claimants of attendance allowance.

Maria Miller: We have no plans to amend the entitlement conditions for attendance allowance to introduce a mobility component. It is normal for pensions and benefit schemes to contain different provisions for people at different stages of their lives. Disability living allowance which has a mobility component is intended to focus additional help with the extra cost of disability on people who have the very considerable disadvantage of being severely disabled earlier in life and who as a consequence have less opportunity to work, earn and save compared to non-disabled people.
	Attendance allowance provides help with the disability-related extra costs of people who experience the onset of disability after age 65. Based on the need for personal care, this help is part of the wide range of support that the Government make available to older people so that they can have a decent and secure income in retirement.

Disability Living Allowance

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the compatibility with the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights of his proposed reforms to disability living allowance.

Maria Miller: We believe that our DLA reform proposals are compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
	The coalition Government published a public consultation on disability living allowance reform on 6 December 2010. The closing date of the consultation is 14 February 2011 and we will consider the responses we receive as part of our response to the consultation.
	Consideration was given to the equality impacts of our reforms as we developed the consultation document.
	An equality impact assessment of our proposals will be published with our proposed legislation, and will be updated as we develop more detail of how our reforms will work in practice.

Members: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to reply to the letter of 9 December 2010 from the hon. Member for Walsall North on a constituent, which was transferred to his Department from HM Treasury.

Chris Grayling: A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 11 January 2011.

Pensioners: Means-tested Benefits

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the number of pensioners that would be lifted out of poverty if take-up of means-tested benefits was 100%; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: Our latest estimates show that if there were 100% take-up of all means tested benefits (pension credit, housing benefit and council tax benefit) by pensioners entitled to them, the number of pensioners below 60% of contemporary median income, after housing costs, would fall by around 600,000, based on 2009-10 benefit rates.
	We want to ensure that older people receive the help that they are entitled to and we are conducting a research study into the feasibility of using existing data to help to improve the take-up of pension credit.
	The Pension Disability and Carers Service (PDCS) continues to work closely with local organisations to encourage and support people to take up the benefits they are entitled to. It will continue to work with local partners to reach particularly vulnerable customers who are not aware of their full entitlements, helping these customers complete application forms for the range of benefits during the one visit.

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the reasons are for the time taken in listing Mr John McGlone's appeal against loss of benefit; and when he expects the case to be listed.

Maria Miller: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Darra Singh. I have asked him to provide the right hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Darra Singh:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking what the reasons are for the time taken in listing Mr John McGlone's appeal against loss of benefit; and when he expects the case to be listed. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus. As this is a personal matter relating to the individual involved, I will write to you separately.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Consumer Direct

George Eustice: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions Ministers in his Department have had with the Citizens Advice Bureau on the future management of Consumer Direct.

Edward Davey: I met the chief executive of Citizens Advice, on 29 September 2010 where the future of Consumer Direct was discussed along with the other functions that Government are planning to transfer to them. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills also met Gillian Guy on 4 November.

SMEs: Access to Finance

Sam Gyimah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he plans to take to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises are able to gain access to finance.

Mark Prisk: We are currently in discussions with the banks seeking an agreement for them to lend verifiably more than they were planning to viable businesses-especially SMEs.
	We want more competition in business banking which is why we have set up the Independent Banking Commission.
	And we are supporting alternatives to bank lending such as the equity based enterprise capital funds.

Regional Growth Fund

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assistance he expects small and medium-sized businesses to receive from the regional growth fund in the next 12 months.

Mark Prisk: The regional growth fund is a challenge fund, in which competitive bids are judged on merit. However, the fund has been designed to be accessible to a wide range of bidders and that includes small and medium sized businesses.

Employment Tribunals Service

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what consideration he has given to steps to avoid spurious claims being taken to the Employment Tribunal Service.

Edward Davey: As part of the review of employment laws, the Government are considering call for changes to the employment tribunal system and will be making announcements in this area shortly.

Forensic Science: Graduates

Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people completed degrees in forensic science in each year since 2005.

David Willetts: The latest information from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) is shown in the table. Figures are shown for forensic and archaeological science. This combined classification captures all forensic science courses, whether taught as a single subject or in combination with archaeological science. Figures for the 2009/10 academic year will be available from 13 January.
	
		
			  Forensic and archaeological science first degree graduates( 1) -UK higher education institutions, academic years 2004/05 to 2008/09 
			  Academic year  Qualifiers 
			 2004/05 745 
			 2005/06 1,195 
			 2006/07 1,445 
			 2007/08 1,640 
			 2008/09 1,710 
			 (1) Covers qualifiers from both full-time and part-time first degree courses and qualifiers of all domiciles.  Note: Figures are based on a HESA qualifications obtained population and have been rounded to the nearest five.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

Higher Education: Admissions

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students from Coventry local authority area entered each higher education institution in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: The latest available information from the Higher Education Statistics Agency on the numbers of entrants from Coventry local authority to higher education courses at UK higher education institutions can be found in the Libraries of the House. Figures for the 2009/10 academic year will become available from 13 January 2011. Comparable local authority level information for entrants to higher education courses at further education colleges is not available. These figures have been calculated using a new methodology based on updated postcode information and are, therefore, not comparable with local authority and constituency-level data which may have been published previously.

Innovation

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what sites he is considering as locations for technology innovation centres; and when he expects such centres to be established.

David Willetts: I refer the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent North to the answers given by my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning (Mr Hayes) to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne Central (Chi Onwurah) on 15 November 2010,  Official Report, column reference 643W, and on 16 November 2010,  Official Report, column reference 745W.
	The Technology Strategy Board has recently published a prospectus to begin the process of establishing the centres. The prospectus identifies potential candidate technology areas for centres and notes that the Technology Strategy Board is seeking to establish the first centre in high value manufacturing. After consultations a decision will be taken on the establishment of this first centre in March 2011. Future centres will be established in two phases, with the first phase starting in 2011/2012 and the second during 2012/2013.

Rupert Murdoch

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what meetings  (a) he,  (b) Ministers and  (c) officials in his Department have had with (i) Rupert Murdoch, (ii) James Murdoch, (iii) Rebekah Wade, (iv) individuals representing News International, (v) individuals representing News Corporation and (vi) individuals representing BSkyB since 4 November 2010.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 21 December 2010
	I have been asked to reply 
	in my role as Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries.
	There has not been direct ministerial level meetings with any member or representative of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.
	On 3 December, two individuals from BSkyB attended an official level discussion at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) on proposed changes to Ofcom's appeals regime. On 4 November, an individual from BSkyB attended my roundtable on digital content along with several other ISPs. Again on 17 December two individuals from BSkyB attended an official level discussion at BIS on the Government's Growth Review programme.

Students: Finance

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the administrative costs of  (a) annual uprating and  (b) five-yearly uprating of the earnings threshold for graduate repayments of student loans; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: High level indicative costs for proposed higher education reforms are included in an interim impact assessment, which has been published and is available on BIS's website at:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/higher-education/docs/i/10-1309-interim-impact-assessment-he-funding-and-student-finance.pdf
	More detailed costs are currently being assessed, however, the Student Loans Company and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, who administer income contingent repayments of student loans, have indicated that the cost of uprating the earnings thresholds for graduate repayments of student loans both on an annual and five-yearly basis are not expected to be significant, and relate mainly to the updating of the relevant information, advice and guidance for employers and graduates.
	These costs will be incurred more regularly by uprating annually but this approach is fairer to graduates and is an important element of a progressive system of repayments of student loans.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Affordable Housing: Construction

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many social housing units have been built in  (a) Stafford constituency and  (b) Staffordshire in each year since 1997; and how many social housing units his Department estimates will be built in each such area in each of the next two years.

Andrew Stunell: The available information, showing the number of new build affordable homes delivered for each local authority district in Staffordshire, is provided in the table. This information is not collected by parliamentary constituency.
	Not all affordable housing is provided through new build completions as supply can also come from the acquisition and refurbishment of private sector homes. In 2009-10, for example, a total of 790 affordable homes were provided in Staffordshire through new building, acquisition and refurbishment.
	The Department does not forecast levels of future house building as delivery will be determined by local housing plans.
	
		
			  New build affordable homes supplied by local authority  district in Staffordshire 
			   Cannock Chase  East Staffordshire  Lichfield  Newcastle-under-Lyme  South Staffordshire  Stafford  Staffordshire Moorlands  Tamworth  Total 
			 1997-98 60 70 20 50 40 * 20 10 270 
			 1998-99 20 40 60 20 60 10 10 80 290 
			 1999-2000 20 20 60 60 70 10 40 40 320 
			 2000-01 70 * 30 10 60 100 * 110 390 
			 2001-02 30 10 90 20 20 30 10 40 240 
			 2002-03 10 20 90 10 20 30 10 40 230 
			 2003-04 * 10 150 20 10 130 30 10 350 
			 2004-05 60 30 100 20 10 260 60 90 630 
			 2005-06 40 30 120 10 20 120 20 * 350 
			 2006-07 40 90 10 * 10 50 * 10 220 
			 2007-08 90 60 90 * 40 70 10 20 390 
			 2008-09 60 20 50 80 90 60 * * 370 
			 2009-10 110 90 170 80 70 40 20 90 670 
			 "*" indicates less than 5.  Note: Figures rounded to nearest 10 homes therefore the county total shown may differ from the sum of the districts.  Source: Homes and Communities Agency; Local authorities

Bus Services: Concessions

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what reasons Devon county council received 42 per cent. less in formula grant for concessionary travel for 2011-12 than it did for 2010-11; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: Formula grant is an unhypothecated block grant ie authorities are free to spend it on any service. For this reason, and due to the method of calculating formula grant, particularly floor damping, it is not possible to say how much grant has been provided for any particular service, including concessionary travel.

Coalfields Regeneration Review

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the findings and recommendations of the Coalfields Regeneration Review Board; what recent assessment he has made of the performance of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust; what funding for coalfield regeneration he plans to allocate to the North Staffordshire Coalfield area in 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Stunell: Government are considering the findings and recommendations made in the Coalfields Regeneration Review Report, and aim to respond formally to the report shortly.
	A full copy of the report is available on the Communities and Local Government website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/regeneration/reviewcoalfieldsregeneration
	We are currently considering detailed business cases for all programmes, before decisions are made on priorities following the spending review settlement for the Department. This includes a comprehensive business case for the continuation of dedicated funding for coalfields areas, which includes evidence on the performance of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust.
	We are due to finalise priorities shortly, and will make an announcement about funding for the Coalfields Regeneration Trust as part of this.
	As I indicated in the adjournment debate on 26 October 2010, we intend to provide the support needed to enable the contractually committed, physical regeneration projects in the Homes and Communities Agency national coalfields programme to come to fruition. Based on current forecasts, the Homes and Communities Agency plans to spend £750,000 on committed Coalfields projects in the North Staffordshire Coalfield area in 2011-12. In addition, funding is available to support the growth of businesses and encourage entrepreneurship in Coalfields areas through the Coalfields Enterprise Funds.

Community Development: Finance

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 19 November 2010,  Official Report, columns 972-3W, on community development: finance, what progress has been made on assisting the completion of existing commitments which have already received approval under the Community Builders Programme but cannot in practice be completed by 31 March 2011.

Andrew Stunell: holding answer 7 December 2010
	Communitybuilders is a £70 million investment fund which provides loans and grants to improve the sustainability of neighbourhood community-led organisations. The programme is being delivered by a consortium led by the Adventure Capital Fund which is responsible for day-to-day operation of the Fund and for individual investment decisions. The Adventure Capital Fund provides support and regularly reviews progress individually with organisations who have received an offer from the Communitybuilders Programme.
	We have been considering options to maximise the flexibility of the fund and secure the best value for money. We are actively considering an endowment approach. This will first involve resolving any legal and procurement issues. Consultations will then begin with the Adventure Capital Fund.

Departmental Christmas Cards

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department has spent on Christmas cards sent by Ministers in his Department in 2010.

Bob Neill: In 2009, the Department spent £2,855 of taxpayers' money on Christmas cards. In December 2010 the departmental Christmas card was produced at no cost to the taxpayer and was sent electronically. Recognising the need to look after the vulnerable at this time of year, we also supported the homeless charity Shelter in the card.

Fire Services: East of England

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government who owns the proposed East of England Regional Fire Control Centre; what his Department's contractual obligations are with respect to the building; what plans he has for the future of that building; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: The East of England building is owned by Control Centre Partnerships Ltd. The Department is responsible for paying the rent and estate charges, and for maintaining the building in accordance with the lease.
	Over the next few weeks we intend to identify the legacy assets from the project that can be used for the benefit of Fire and Rescue Services and local communities in the future. As part of this, the Department will be talking to representatives of all Fire and Rescue Authorities about the future use of the control centre buildings.
	On 13 December 2010,  Official Report, columns 64-65WS, a written ministerial statement which launches a consultation on the future of control services in England and will be engaging the fire and rescue sector was made and is available in the Library of the House.

Fire Services: East of England

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the estimated cost of completion was of the East of England Regional Fire Control Centre  (a) at the commencement of the project and  (b) in the latest period for which figures are available; and how much his Department has spent on that project to date.

Bob Neill: The cost of construction and installation of the control centres was borne by the developers as the buildings were procured through a private developer scheme. The Department is responsible for paying the rent and estate charges, and for maintaining the building in accordance with the lease. The estimated accumulated total in rent and running costs payable by the Department for the East of England Control Centre to the end of December 2010 is £3.6 million.

Fire Services: East of England

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the planned date for the opening of the East of England Regional Fire Control Centre was  (a) at the commencement of the project and  (b) prior to his announcement not to proceed with the project.

Bob Neill: The first published date for when calls were expected to be taken at the East of England Control Centre was October 2011. At the time of the December 2010 announcement the published date was November 2011.

Fire Services: Essex

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will provide the finance to enable Essex Fire and Rescue Service to transfer its control centre from its former headquarters to its current headquarters.

Bob Neill: Essex Fire and Rescue Authority, like all fire and rescue authorities, already receives funding that enables it to fulfil its statutory duties including provision of a control service.

Housing Benefit

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in how many and which broad rental market areas is 80 per cent. of the market rent, as assessed by his Department, in excess of the proposed housing benefit cap.

Grant Shapps: As set out in my written ministerial statement published on 9 December 2010,  Official Report, columns 31-34WS, our new delivery model for affordable housing will offer housing associations flexibility to charge rents higher than social rent and at a maximum of 80% of local market rents.
	A housing association's calculation of the market rent would need to be based on a
	residential lettings estimate for a property of the appropriate size, condition and area. Valuations should be in accordance with a RICS recognised method. We anticipate that landlords nonetheless have regard to the relevant local housing allowance cap for the broad rental market area in which the property is located and other caps on benefits which are currently being implemented such as the aggregate benefit cap. It should be noted that 80% of market rent is a maximum, not a fixed requirement. So it would be open to housing associations to offer a rent at less than 80% of market rates if that best suited local circumstances, including for example if the benefits cap limited the ability of tenants to pay the maximum level of rent in some areas.
	A broad rental market area is the area used to set local housing allowance. It is an
	area within which a person could reasonably be expected to live having regard to facilities and services for the purposes of health, education, recreation, personal banking and shopping, taking account of the distance of travel, by public and private transport, to and from those facilities and services. The range of rents and how they are dispersed within a broad rental market area depends on the profile of the area itself. In practice, a broad rental market area may include a diverse range of micro-markets with differing rental values, all influenced by the access to facilities and services but equally influenced by very local factors.
	There are 152 broad rental market areas in England and each broad rental market
	area typically contains three to four local authorities. Information on median rents as at December 2010 for broad rental market areas in England is published by the Valuation Office Agency and is available from the following link. The median represents the "average" rent but in practice there will be variation in rent levels within broad rental market areas.
	http://www.voa.gov.uk/LHADirect/Documents/LHA_percentile_rates_Dec_2010.html
	The above link also contains information on what the proposed lower local housing allowance rates would be if based on the 30th percentile of rents as at December 2010 and taking into account the new upper limits for each property size.
	Given broad rental market areas are so large in size, the median rental figures will mask a very significant variation in rents. Even within a local authority area, market rents will vary street by street, ward by ward. The median, by definition, represents the statistical mid-point across a range of figures, both low and high. In this context it is potentially misleading to make assumptions about the availability of private rented properties, the implications of the upper limits on local housing allowance rates, and the scope for housing associations to charge 80% of market rents based on broad market rental area data covering such wide areas.

Housing Revenue Accounts

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the former hon. Member for Swindon South of 30 April 2007,  Official Report, columns 1518-9W, on housing revenue accounts, what the  (a) amounts distributed to authorities in deficit,  (b) amounts contributed by authorities in surplus and  (c) net expenditure by the Exchequer were in (i) 2006-07, (ii) 2007-08, (iii) 2008-09 and (iv) 2009-10.

Andrew Stunell: The overall surpluses, deficits and the net Housing Revenue Account Subsidy position, are given in the following table:
	
		
			  Housing revenue account subsidy 2006-07 to 2009-10 
			  £ 
			   2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			 Total surpluses (receipts) -590,725,464 -613,702,090 -765,932,668 -687,317,344 
			 Total deficits (payments) 720,697,416 668,246,757 500,222,937 574,134,156 
			 Net HRA Subsidy 129,971,952 54,544,667 -265,709,731 -113,183,188 
			  Note: All assumed surpluses are captured and transferred to the Exchequer. Payments to authorities in deficit are not dependent on the amounts received from those in surplus. 
		
	
	Measures have been published in the Localism Bill to reform the HRA finance regime and replace housing revenue account subsidy with a system of self-financing for local housing authorities.

Private and Social Rented Housing: Rents

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the average weekly rent in the private rented sector in each region in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the average weekly registered social landlord rent in each region in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the annual change in average registered social landlord weekly rent in each region in each of the last 10 years;
	(4)  what the annual change in average weekly rents in the private rented sector was in  (a) the North East,  (b) the North West,  (c) Yorkshire and the Humber,  (d) the East Midlands,  (e) the West Midlands,  (f) the East,  (g) London,  (h) the South East and  (i) the South West in each of the last 10 years;
	(5)  what the annual change in average local authority weekly rent has been in  (a) the North East,  (b) the North West,  (c) Yorkshire and the Humber,  (d) the East Midlands,  (e) the West Midlands,  (f) the East,  (g) London,  (h) the South East and  (i) the South West in each of the last 10 years;
	(6)  what the average local authority weekly rent is in  (a) the North East,  (b) the North West,  (c) Yorkshire and the Humber,  (d) the East Midlands,  (e) the West Midlands,  (f) the East,  (g) London,  (h) the South East and  (i) the South West.

Grant Shapps: The Survey of English Housing provides information on regional level market rents for privately-owned properties. The results are based on a two year average due to sample size issues. The most recent regional level estimates are an average for 2006-07 and 2007-08, available from:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/141656.xls
	
		
			  Average weekly rent in the private rented sector 
			   2006-07 and 2007-08 combined  (£ per week) 
			 North East 96 
			 North West 95 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 89 
			 East Midlands 97 
			 West Midlands 102 
			 East 126 
			 London 208 
			 South East 145 
			 South West 117 
			  Source: Survey of English Housing 
		
	
	The annual percentage change in average weekly rents in the private rented sector in each of the last 10 years was as follows:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   Combined 
			   1997-98 and 1998-99  1998-99 and 1999-2000  1999-2000 and 2000-01  2000-01 and 2001-02  2001-02 and 2002-03  2002-03 and 2003-04  2003-04 and 2004-05  2004-05 and 2005-06  2005-06 and 2006-07  2006-07 and 2007-08 
			 North East -2 -6 7 17 3 1 4 -1 12 16 
			 North West 4 14 0 1 3 2 3 3 6 4 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 0 6 0 4 10 8 7 -4 -4 13 
			 East Midlands 14 0 -8 16 10 2 2 4 5 4 
			 West Midlands -8 0 13 8 4 4 0 4 7 7 
			 East 1 1 8 5 2 7 11 8 3 0 
			 London 6 5 2 9 14 1 -6 3 6 7 
			 South East 4 1 7 10 13 0 -4 4 4 2 
			 South West 7 5 2 9 4 1 6 5 5 2 
			  Source: Survey of English Housing, percentage change reflect change on previous year 
		
	
	Information on average weekly rents for registered social landlord dwelling units are available for general needs self-contained units owned and/or managed by registered social landlords. Information is collected on the Regulatory and Statistical Return (RSR) survey by the Tenants Services Authority. The average weekly rent as at 31 March each year from 1997 to 2010 in each region is published on the Department for Communities and Local Government website in Table 703. The link for this table is as follows:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/141440.xls
	Average weekly rents for local authority dwelling units are collected from Housing Revenue Account subsidy forms. The average weekly rent as at 31 March each year from 1998-99 to 2010-11 in each statistical region is published on the Department for Communities and Local Government website in Table 701. The link for this table is as follows:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/1777599.xls
	The following tables show the annual change in average local authority and registered social landlord weekly rent.
	
		
			  Annual percentage changes in registered social landlord average weekly rents, by statistical region 
			  Percentage 
			   At 31 March: 
			   2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			 North East 2.4 1.5 2.4 3.1 5.5 5.7 2.7 4.2 5.8 5.7 
			 North West 1.4 5.8 1.9 3.4 5.8 3.6 4.4 4.6 4.6 5.9 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber -1.4 3.7 -0.4 2.8 1.3 5.5 1.7 5.9 6.9 5.3 
			 East Midlands 1.8 1.2 2.4 2.7 6.6 5.3 4.2 4.5 4.7 6.6 
			 West Midlands -0.1 4.7 1.8 3.2 5.9 4.8 4.3 5.9 5.5 6.4 
			 East 2.7 3.1 2.6 2.6 5.0 4.1 4.0 5.0 5.5 6.5 
			 London 2.2 4.2 3.4 3.5 6.9 4.6 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.3 
			 South East 2.1 4.0 2.6 2.0 7.0 4.7 3.6 4.2 4.9 5.8 
			 South West 1.9 4.2 2.7 2.3 6.3 4.1 3.4 5.0 4.7 3.2 
			  Notes: 1. Data are collected by the Tenant Services Authority via the annual Regulatory and Statistical Return based on general needs stock only. 2. Figures are based on only the larger registered social landlords completing the long form. Up until 2006 the threshold for completing the long form was that the registered social landlord owned/managed at least 250 units/bedspaces. From 2007 this increased to 1,000 units/bedspaces. 3. Averages are calculated for self-contained units only. 
		
	
	
		
			  Annual percentage changes in local authority average weekly rents by statistical region, England 
			  Percentage 
			   2001-02 to 2002-03  2002-03 to 2003-04  2003-04 to 2004-05  2004-05 to 2005-06  2005-06 to 2006-07  2006-07 to 2007-08  2007-08 to 2008-09  2008-09 to 2009-10  2009-10 to 2010-11( 1) 
			 North East 2.7 1.2 3.5 4.8 5.0 6.8 4.0 2.9 3.3 
			 North West 3.7 1.5 1.6 3.6 3.7 5.5 3.8 2.8 2.3 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 5.7 1.9 4.0 4.2 4.9 7.2 4.1 3.3 2.3 
			 East Midlands 5.3 1.8 3.4 5.1 4.4 6.5 4.4 2.6 2.6 
			 West Midlands 4.5 1.6 3.9 4.7 4.9 5.9 3.9 3.2 2.9 
			 East 3.9 1.2 4.7 4.9 4.4 7.6 3.2 1.9 2.0 
			 London 3.7 0.7 2.3 4.5 4.6 5.5 3.8 3.4 1.2 
			 South East 4.4 2.2 3.2 3.7 3.8 6.1 4.3 3.0 1.6 
			 South West 3.6 0.7 3.2 3.1 3.9 5.9 4.2 3.8 1.8 
			 (1) Provisional.  Notes: 1 Rents data are based on the financial year. Stock figures used to estimate the average for each region are taken at 1 April of the following financial year. 2. Average rents data for between 2003-04 and 2007-08 inclusively are estimated using total stock figures from Housing Revenue Account audited base claim form. Before 2003-04 the average rents data are estimated using total stock figures from the Housing Revenue Account second subsidy claim form. 3. Some local authorities may have supplied net rents excluding service charges from 2003-04 onwards Prior to 2003-04 some local authorities may have been including service charges in their rent figures.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost to the public purse was of the use of chartered aircraft to transport service personnel from Afghanistan to the UK in each of the last two months.

Peter Luff: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) charters aircraft to move personnel to and from the middle east. Personnel are then transported to Afghanistan on military transport, usually C17 or occasionally CI30 aircraft. Chartered aircraft do not fly to Afghanistan for force protection reasons.
	The estimated cost of chartering aircraft to transport service personnel to and from the middle east for onward transmission by RAF flights to and from Afghanistan was around £3.4 million for November 2010, and around £1.9 million for December 2010. As we charter the aircraft on a return flight basis, it is not possible to cost just the return half.
	The figures are inclusive of aviation fuel, duties and taxes and represent our best estimates of costs, as the vast majority of final invoices have yet to be presented.
	Costs for flights for operations are borne by the contingency fund and not the MOD budget.

Armed Forces: Private Education

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Edinburgh West of 10 November 2010,  Official Report, column 391W, on the armed forces: private education, what proportion of serving service personnel in receipt of the continuity of education allowance are serving overseas;
	(2)  to how many schools his Department pays school fees for serving personnel; what the name and location of each is; and how much was paid to each in the latest period for which figures are available.

Nick Harvey: The purpose of continuity of education allowance is to allow the children of service personnel to achieve a stable education against a background of parental postings both at home, and overseas.
	As at autumn term 2010, 15% of service personnel in receipt of continuity of education allowance were serving overseas.
	Accurate details broken down according to specific educational establishments are not held.

Defence: Procurement

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he plans to provide a redacted copy of the contract for the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carrier Project and the BAE System Surface Ships Terms of Business Agreement for consideration by the Committee of Public Accounts; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Luff: Redacted copies of the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carrier contracts and the BAE Systems Surface Ships Terms of Business Agreement have been provided to the House of Commons Liaison Committee, Treasury Committee and the Public Accounts Committee.
	These documents are already in the public domain and on the Ministry of Defence (MOD) website through publication of the MOD's Freedom of Information Disclosure Log, available at:
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FreedomOfInformation/DisclosureLog/ReviewOfTheQueenElizabethClassAircraft CarrierContracts.htm
	Copies have been placed in the Library of the House.

Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contingency plans his Department has put in place to maintain airbridges in the case of the A330 Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft not being delivered on time.

Peter Luff: The Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) Programme is on schedule with the first two A330 aircraft converted to the tanking role. These aircraft have begun flight trials and their certification and qualification flight programme. The new facilities being provided by AirTanker are ahead of schedule in readiness for the delivery of the first aircraft in late 2011.
	In the unlikely event of a delay to FSTA delivery, we would plan to extend the use of existing assets or else make greater use of civil charter.

Met Office

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Met Office has received representations on the quality of its advice from customers who subscribe to its services in the last 12 months.

Andrew Robathan: The Met Office both seeks feedback from its customers and users, and receives unprompted comments and representations. Overall the feedback the Met Office receives is significantly more positive than otherwise.
	During the recent cold spell positive feedback has been received from both paying customers like the aviation industry who found Met Office forecasts accurate and helpful, and similarly from the public, who found the severe weather warnings both useful and accurate. Nine out of 10 people said they found the Met Office's severe weather warnings useful.

Met Office

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what forecasts for the winter of 2010 the Met Office sent to Government Departments and local authorities for planning purposes in September and October 2010.

Andrew Robathan: The Met Office provides the Government with rolling three month long range forecasts on a monthly basis for planning purposes, each updating the previous one. Additionally, for the public, the Met Office provides short range forecasts out to five days ahead, as well as forecasts for six to 15 days and 16 to 30 days ahead. This winter, the Met Office's 30 day forecasts accurately highlighted the cold weather in late November and through December and its day to day forecasts and warnings have been widely recognised as providing consistently good advice through the exceptionally cold weather, both to the public and emergency responders.

Military Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the availability rate was of each TriStar aircraft in each of the last 12 months.

Nick Harvey: The available information is shown in the following table. The figures represent the average number of airframes from each TriStar variant available in the forward fleet during each month of 2010. The forward fleet comprises aircraft which are serviceable and those which are short-term unserviceable.
	
		
			  Tri S tar forward fleet 
			   C2  KC1  K1 
			 January 2 2.9 0 
			 February 1.9 2.5 0 
			 March 1.9 2.9 0.5 
			 April 2 3.3 1 
			 May 1 3.8 0.7 
			 June 1 3.8 0.9 
			 July 0.8 3.9 1 
			 August 1 4 1 
			 September 1 4 1 
			 October 1 4 0 
			 November 1.4 2.8 0.7 
			 December 1.6 2.3 1 
		
	
	I will write to the hon. Member shortly.

Military Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the grounding of the TriStar fleet to be lifted; and what assessment he has made of the effect of the grounding of the TriStar fleet on air-to-air refuelling operations.

Peter Luff: The TriStar fleet has not been grounded. Flying was temporarily suspended on 17 December 2010 in order to enable engineering checks to be undertaken following the identification of a technical issue with the fleet. Following engineering checks, the first TriStar returned to service on 23 December 2010 and, subject to any rectification work, aircraft continue to return to service. As a result of these engineering checks three programmed air to air refuelling sorties were cancelled between 17 and 31 December 2010.

Nimrod Aircraft

Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of cancelling production of the Nimrod MRA4; and what penalties his Department will incur as a result of such cancellation.

Peter Luff: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 28 October 2010,  Official Report, column 450W, to the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones).

Nimrod Aircraft

Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on the future production of the Nimrod MRA4 for commercial sale; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Luff: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 30 November 2010,  Official Report, columns 748-49W, to the hon. Member for Bridgend (Mrs Moon).

RAF Kinloss

Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the  (a) redundancy,  (b) resettlement and  (c) other costs to his Department in the five-year period following the closure of RAF Kinloss consequent upon that closure.

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence under what budget headings the proposed cost savings of the decision to cancel the Nimrod MRA4 programme will be made.

Nick Harvey: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) made estimates of the costs and savings accrued from measures in the strategic defence and security review for the purposes of formulating policy. It is estimated that not bringing Nimrod MRA4 into service and the RAF vacating Kinloss will save around £2 billion over the next 10 years. Release of further detail may prejudice commercial interests. Furthermore, final savings figures will depend on detailed implementation, which will generally be subject to full consultation with all relevant parties, including the trades unions and the devolved Administrations, as well as the results of mandatory assessments on the impact that the measures will have on sustainability, equality and diversity and health and safety. The MOD is therefore not able to release more detailed figures at this time.

Rescue Services

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to take a decision on signing the search and rescue harmonisation contract with Soteria.

Peter Luff: I refer the hon. Member to the written statement made by the Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) on 16 December 2010,  Official Report, column 133WS.

Strategic Defence and Security Review

Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on external consultants as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review.

Liam Fox: holding answer 20 December 2010
	The Ministry of Defence spent around £75,000 on external consultants as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review, principally in support of the development of costing models.
	The Department also incurred expenditure on external assistance and technical consultancy for the Trident value for money review as set out in the answer I gave on 11 November 2010,  Official Report, column 449W, to the hon. Member for Newport West (Paul Flynn) and the right hon. Member for Coventry North East (Mr Ainsworth).

EDUCATION

CAFCASS: Finance

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the likely effects on service delivery in 2011-12 of changes in the budget of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service.

Tim Loughton: I have discussed with the chief executive of CAFCASS his plans to continue to deliver a service within the available budget. Officials in the Department have worked closely with their counterparts in CAFCASS to ensure that plans are realistic, deliverable and that they enable CAFCASS to meet its statutory duties.
	The additional £10 million invested by the Department in CAFCASS in the current financial year has enabled it to develop more streamlined and efficient working practices; I am confident that, as a result, the organisation is better placed to meet the challenges of the current financial climate.

Children's Centres

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education in respect of how many Sure Start centres each local authority has announced its plans for  (a) closure and  (b) termination of development at phase (i) three and (ii) four.

Sarah Teather: holding answer 25 November 2010
	Children's centres are at the heart of the Government's vision for supporting families with young children and intervening early to prevent problems from becoming crises. That is why the recent spending review announced that there is funding available to maintain the current network of children's centres.
	The Department for Education does not collect data on local authority plans for closure or termination of development of children's centres. However local authorities have duties under the Childcare Act 2006 to consult before opening, closing or significantly changing Sure Start children's centres and to secure sufficient children's centres provision to meet local need.

Departmental Written Questions

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many written questions tabled for answer on a named day each Minister in his Department has answered since 11 May 2010.

Tim Loughton: holding answer 9 December 2010
	 The information requested is in the following table:
	
		
			  Minister  Named day questions answered since 11 May 2010 
			 Nick Gibb 323 
			 Sarah Teather 57 
			 Tim Loughton 63 
			 Total 443

Disabled Students' Allowances

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will review the time taken to process claims for disabled students' allowances.

David Willetts: I have been asked to reply.
	The application process for disabled students' allowances (DSAs) has several stages involving a number of parties. On receipt of a DSA application form, the Student Loans Company (SLC) will assess the student's eligibility for DSAs and, if the student is eligible, authorise an assessment of their course-related needs at an independent assessment centre. On receipt of a report from the assessment centre, the SLC will write to the student telling them what equipment and other support can be paid for from the DSAs.
	This Department has provided the SLC with additional resources to speed up the processing of DSA applications for the academic year (AY) 2010/11 and set shorter target times for completing the two stages of the process for which it is responsible. Last year (AY 2009/10) the SLC's target was to assess eligibility within 15 working days of receipt of the DSA application form and decide what support can be paid for from the DSAs within 15 working days of receipt of the needs assessment report, for 95% of applications. This year (2010/11) the SLC is required to complete each of these stages within 10 working days, in 95% of cases. In November 2010, the latest month for which there is complete data, the SLC was achieving the target level for 94.3% of applications for the first stage and 87.5% of applications for the second stage.
	In consultation with stakeholders-through a stakeholder forum which includes representatives from a range of disability organisations as well as higher education institutions and needs assessment centres-SLC has streamlined its processes for dealing with DSA applications, including:
	an increase in the number of staff allocated to this work, with better training and quality assurance to ensure consistency in the service provided to customers;
	better forecasting and daily management of all parts of the process, allowing SLC to pro-actively manage resources to match the flow of applications;
	SLC proactively contacting needs assessment centres to follow up applications and assess processing levels; and
	disability awareness training for both advisers and processing staff.
	These measures have contributed to improved processing times for the overall process from receipt of the application to payment. We recognise that there is still more to do and the SLC continues to work with partners and stakeholders to improve the service for disabled students.

Educational Psychology

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans his Department has for the future provision of educational psychology training.

Sarah Teather: I am very pleased to report that following our spending review I have been able to secure the funding to meet the costs of completing the cohorts of educational psychologists currently in training, and for one further cohort due to begin training in September 2011. However, the current funding scheme is not sustainable. I will take advantage of the opportunity presented by the Green Paper on SEN and disabilities to consider options for placing the training of educational psychologists on a more secure footing.

Extracurricular Activities: Newham

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many primary schools in  (a) West Ham constituency and  (b) the London borough of Newham provide extended out-of-hours provision.

Sarah Teather: Data on the number of schools providing access to extended services (which can include out of hours provision) are no longer collected centrally. However, the last data supplied by the Training and Development Agency for schools (TDA) in September 2010 showed that all 25 primary schools in the West Ham constituency and all 66 primary schools in the London borough of Newham were providing access to extended services. The TDA's role supporting local authorities on the extended services programme ceased on 30 November.

School Sports Partnerships

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils in Ashfield constituency participated in  (a) one and  (b) more than one sport through school sports partnerships in the latest period for which figures are available.

Tim Loughton: This information is not available in the format requested. However, all maintained schools and academies in England are currently part of the network of school sport partnerships. Partnerships in the Ashfield constituency include 41 schools with a total of around 15,000 pupils on roll.
	The results of the most recent PE and sport survey were published in September 2010. These showed that schools in England provided an average of 19 different sports for their pupils. Football was the most frequently provided sport, with 98% of schools providing it for their pupils.

Schools Sports Partnerships

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many  (a) male and  (b) female students in Warrington North constituency participated in sport through schools sports partnerships in each of the years for which figures are available.

Tim Loughton: All students of compulsory school age are required to study all subjects of the national curriculum, including physical education, unless they are disapplied from part or all of the national curriculum. All maintained primary and secondary schools in Warrington North constituency are members of School Sports Partnerships in their area. The table sets out the total number of male and female students on the roll of these schools, from 2005 to 2010.
	
		
			   Male  Female 
			 2005 7,060 6,710 
			 2006 6,830 6,540 
			 2007 6,720 6,380 
			 2008 6,550 6,170 
			 2009 6,410 6,000 
			 2010 6,290 5,910 
			  Notes: 1. Pupil numbers are taken from the annual school census, and have been rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Due to recent parliamentary constituency boundary changes, the figures have been reworked back to 2005; to recreate figures for the earlier years would incur disproportionate cost.

Schools: Sports

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what account he took of data collected in his Department's physical education and sport survey for 2009-10 on  (a) rates of inter and intra-school competitive sports and  (b) the number of young people taking part in (i) tennis, (ii) fitness activities, (iii) orienteering, (iv) cycling, (v) golf, (vi) badminton, (vii) table tennis, (viii) rugby league, (ix) canoeing, (x) archery, (xi) martial arts, (xii) rowing and (xiii) multi- skill clubs before making the decision to reduce levels of funding for the School Sports Partnerships programme; and if he will make a statement.

Tim Loughton: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove) took into account all of the findings of the PE and sport survey before making decisions about future funding for PE and sport. This included the findings set out in this question.
	As we have said before, the Government acknowledge that school sport partnerships have been successful in raising participation rates in areas targeted by the previous administration. This is a credit to the staff involved. However, it is also true that, in some areas, participation rates dropped, and in other areas they remained static. Not only that, the survey also showed that only two in five pupils takes part in regular competitive sport within their own school, and only one in five plays regularly against other schools. This is after £2.4 billion of funding and seven years of work.
	The Secretary of State has now announced that the Department will make a further payment of £47 million to school sport partnerships in February to fund partnerships up to the end of the summer term 2011. He will also make funding available to enable secondary schools to release a qualified PE teacher from timetable for one day each week in 2011/12 and 2012/13 to work with other schools to increase opportunities for competitive sport for our young people.

Schools: Sports

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils participated in  (a) one and  (b) more than one sport through school sports partnerships in the latest period for which figures are available.

Tim Loughton: This information is not available in the format requested. However, the PE and Sport survey report published in September 2010 showed that pupils in years 1 to 11 spent, on average, 123 minutes of curriculum time taking part in PE in a typical school week in 2009/10. However this is not necessarily through a school sports partnership, but rather PE choices in school. In the same year, schools provided an average of 19 types of listed sports, with football being the most popular sport. All maintained schools and academies in England are currently part of the network of school sport partnerships.

Special Educational Needs: Per Capita Costs

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his most recent estimate is of his Department's average annual expenditure per student with special educational needs in a mainstream school; and what estimate he has made of the likely level of such expenditure in 2015.

Sarah Teather: It is not possible to provide the information requested due to the way in which funding is provided to schools through local authorities. Local authorities receive their schools funding through the dedicated schools grant. It is for each local authority to distribute funding to its schools using its locally agreed formula. Local funding formulae determine how much of the schools budget will be retained for core services to children and families and how much will be delegated to schools. It is then for governors and head teachers to determine how much of the total funding delegated to their school will be used to provide SEN services in their school.
	There is publicly available data on school funding made to local authorities through the dedicated schools grant; planned expenditure on the provision for pupils with SEN in the 2009-10 financial year was almost £5.2 billion. Of this, £2.1 billion was delegated to mainstream schools, £1.6 billion was delegated to maintained special schools, and £612 million was spent on placing children with SEN statements at independent and non-maintained special schools.
	The Schools White Paper 2010 recognises that funding for schools should be fairer and more transparent, enabling schools to meet the needs of their pupils. Extra resources should clearly follow those pupils who might need extra help and support. The White Paper stated that the Government will be consulting on developing and introducing a clear, transparent and fairer national funding formula based on the needs of pupils, to work alongside our recently announced plans for a pupil premium.

Teenage Pregnancy

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department plans to take to  (a) measure and  (b) reduce rates of teenage pregnancy following the end of the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy.

Sarah Teather: holding answer 29 November 2010
	Data on under 18 conceptions will continue to be collected and published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on an annual basis and each quarter. The Business Plan of the Department for Education published on 8 November included an impact indicator on reducing teenage pregnancy, based on the under 18 conception rate. This demonstrates the importance which the Government attaches to this as a key measurement indicator for showing progress in narrowing equalities and reducing child poverty.
	It is important that local areas take action to reduce teenage pregnancy rates and I have asked them to continue giving this priority. Each area knows its local population and is best placed to decide what services to put in place, using the international evidence and lessons from areas where rates have fallen fastest.
	That is why we will be giving local authorities greater freedom and flexibility through future funding arrangements from April 2011. The proposed Early Intervention Grant will bring together funding for Sure Start, families with multiple problems and targeted support for vulnerable young people who are at risk of a range of poor outcomes including teenage pregnancy as well as substance misuse and involvement in youth crime.
	We have also made clear in the White Paper, 'The Importance of Teaching', published on 24 November, that children need high quality sex and relationships so they can make wise and informed choices for themselves and that they can benefit enormously from high quality Personal, Social, Heath and Economic (PSHE) education.

Theatre: Concessions

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport on access to the theatre for young people on low incomes in the West Midlands; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah Teather: holding answer 1 December 2010
	In the Schools White Paper "The Importance of Teaching", published in November, the coalition Government made clear that children should expect to be given a rich menu of cultural experiences. Experience of live theatre performances should be part of that experience. While the Secretary of State for Education has not had specific discussions with the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport on access for young people on low incomes, these issues are at the heart of what the coalition Government are trying to achieve through a rich menu of cultural experiences.

HEALTH

Alcoholic Drinks and Drugs: Rehabilitation

Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on integrating  (a) alcohol and  (b) drug addiction treatment services in the social care system; and what discussions he has had on this matter with ministerial colleagues in the (i) Department for Communities and Local Government and (ii) Cabinet Office.

Anne Milton: "Healthy Lives, Healthy People: Consultation on the funding and commissioning routes for public health" sets out the vision for the future of commissioning of drug and alcohol services which we propose will be funded from the new public health budget and commissioned by local authorities as part of their new public health role.
	In addition, the Drug Strategy 2010: "Reducing Demand, Restricting Supply, Building Recovery: Supporting People to live a drug free life" sets out plans to test new approaches by introducing six pilots to explore how payment by results can work for drugs recovery for adults.
	Both the development of the drug strategy and the payment by results pilots have involved cross-government discussions, including discussions at the Public Health Cabinet Sub-Committee.
	Copies of both documents have been placed in the Library.

Ambulance Services: Standards

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 14 December 2010,  Official Report, columns 719-20W, on ambulance services: standards, when he expects the review of the publication of information on service operational issues in respect of winter pressures to be completed.

Simon Burns: The review is under way and we anticipate that it will be published by the end of January 2011.

Animal Feed

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has made to the European Commission and his EU counterparts on reviewing regulations to prevent waste from biodiesel production being included in animal feed; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: We are advised by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) that there is a range of controls in European Union feed legislation to ensure that materials intended for use in animal feed-which may include by-products from biofuel production-do not pose a significant risk to the environment, animal health or the human consumers of animal products. These controls include maximum permitted levels for various contaminants.
	The Standing Committee on the Feed Chain and Animal Health in Brussels keeps these controls under review and updates them to ensure they reflect emerging scientific knowledge and experience of their effectiveness in practice. Officials from both the FSA and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs lead for the United Kingdom at these meetings, and will participate in any discussions on proposed revisions of these controls as they relate to by-products from biofuel production.

Arthritis

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assistance his Department is providing to care commissioners in respect of provision of multi-disciplinary teams for patients with rheumatoid arthritis; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: It is for local national health service organisations to recruit and train the staff best placed to serve their local population.
	The rounded care model for rheumatoid arthritis is built around a multidisciplinary team approach. Multidisciplinary teams within rheumatology services see some of the functions traditionally carried out by consultant rheumatologists appropriately transferred to other members of the team, such as specialist: nurses.
	National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence clinical guideline 79 "The management of rheumatoid arthritis in adults" makes the multidisciplinary team a key priority for implementation.

Arthritis

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that patients with rheumatoid arthritis receive the appropriate number of follow-up consultations; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: It is for commissioners to ensure that they have commissioned sufficient capacity to allow timely access to first or follow-up appointments. Primary care trusts should be working with local service providers to ensure the correct capacity is available to provide the best evidence based care for their patients.
	The Department expects local health communities to be mindful of National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance when commissioning services for people with rheumatoid arthritis. A NICE commissioning guide "Services for the diagnosis and management of rheumatoid arthritis in adults" was published in December 2009 to assist commissioners in implementing "NICE Clinical Guideline 79: the management of rheumatoid arthritis in adults locally", including consideration of access to care for people with established rheumatoid arthritis.

Blood: Contamination

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of people infected with  (a) hepatitis C,  (b) HIV/AIDS and (c) both hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS as a result of receiving contaminated blood or blood products in NHS facilities reside in (i) England, (ii) Wales and (iii) Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: There are no data available on either the total number, or the proportion, of individuals infected with HIV and/or hepatitis C by contaminated national health service supplied blood and blood products, who reside in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. The only available data are for the total numbers infected in the United Kingdom who have registered with one of the ex gratia schemes (the Macfarlane Trust, the Eileen Trust or the Skipton Fund). The Macfarlane and Eileen Trusts do not hold data on where each of their claimants was infected. Of the registrants to the Skipton Fund, 3,317 were infected in hospitals in England, 120 in hospitals in Northern Ireland, 636 in hospitals in Scotland, and 226 in hospitals in Wales.
	Our best estimate of the total number of individuals who were infected with HIV and hepatitis C are that 4,675 people with haemophilia in the UK were infected with hepatitis C, and published epidemiological estimates suggest that up to 28,043 other individuals might have been similarly infected with hepatitis C by whole blood transfusions in the UK. Over roughly the same period, approximately 1,200 people with haemophilia and 100 other individuals were infected with HIV by NHS-supplied blood products or blood transfusions. Separate figures specifically for AIDS are not collected.

Carers: Kent

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether a recent assessment has been made of the role of  (a) carers' centres in Chatham and Aylesford constituency and  (b) voluntary organisations in Kent and Medway in supporting carers;
	(2)  what financial assistance his Department provided to  (a) Medway council, Tonbridge and Malling council,  ( b ) Medway Primary Care Trust and  (c) West Kent Primary Care Trust for the support of carers in the latest period for which figures are available.

Paul Burstow: A recent review was carried out by Kent county council of all carers services across Kent including the role and service delivery of Maidstone and Malling Carers Project (covering the Aylesford area).
	Medway council received £1.039 million in 2010-11 for the carers element of their Area Based Grant. Figures are not available at borough council level for Tonbridge and Malling council. Kent county council (including Tonbridge and Malling) received £6.242 million in 2010-11 for the carers' element of their Area Based Grant.
	In 2010-11, £100 million was made available within primary care trust (PCT) allocations to enable them to provide breaks for carers. This was not broken down by PCT.
	The spending review has made £400 million additional funding available to support the provision of breaks for carers. The new monies will go into PCT budgets from April 2011 and into general practitioner consortium budgets from 2013.
	The 2011-12 NHS Operating Framework, published on 15 December 2010, makes clear that PCTs should pool budgets with local authorities to provide carers' breaks, as far as possible, via direct payments or personal health budgets. The Operating Framework also states that local health services will be much more transparent and understandable by local people. For 2011-12, PCTs are required to publish their local plans to deliver both dementia services and services to support carers.

Dementia: Health Services

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was allocated in ring-fenced funding for dementia services in each of the last three years; and how much of that allocation to each primary care trust was unspent in each such year.

Paul Burstow: No ring-fenced funding was made available.

Dementia: Health Services

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment has been made of geographical variations in the standard of dementia care; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: As part of the National Audit of Dementia, the NHS Information Centre is currently collecting information on the Department's behalf on dementia services throughout England. The results from this exercise are expected in the spring of 2011.
	In addition, at the end of September we published a new dementia outcomes-focused Implementation Plan. This set out the Department's priority objectives for improving the care of those with dementia including a focus on early diagnosis and intervention for all, improved quality of care in general hospitals, living well with dementia in care homes and reducing the use of antipsychotic medication to treat people with dementia. Managers and clinicians who provide local services need to account for the quality and standards of care for people with dementia and will be held to account for these services locally.
	In support of the Implementation Plan a National Dementia Declaration was jointly launched in October by the Government and the Alzheimer's Society. This brings together a range of bodies, each setting out what they plan to do to support the implementation of the strategy. The Department is also developing a commissioning pack to provide guidance for primary care trusts (PCTs) and local authorities on how best to commission dementia services.
	The revised NHS Operating Framework for 2010-11 introduced a requirement for PCTs to publish locally how they deliver services for people with dementia, building on the work of the National Dementia Strategy. This requirement continues to apply under the terms of the NHS Operating Framework for 2011-12, which also spells out that national health service organisations are expected to make progress on implementing the National Dementia Strategy, including the four priority areas as set out in the implementation plan published in September 2010:
	good quality early diagnosis and intervention for all;
	improved quality of care in general hospitals;
	living well with dementia in care homes; and
	reduced use of antipsychotic medication.
	In implementing the strategy, PCTs and NHS trusts also need to take account of the findings of the report from the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death 'An Age Old Problem: A review of the care received by elderly patients undergoing Surgery', published in November 2010. The report identifies shortcomings in the care of older people and suggests how services can be improved.

Eggs: Contamination

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that food products made with contaminated egg do not enter the UK food chain; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: We are advised by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), which has responsibility for policy on food safety, that general food law places the onus on food businesses to ensure that all of their ingredients and products are safe and compliant with any relevant legislation. In light of the recent dioxin contamination incident originating in Germany, the FSA has taken the opportunity to remind food businesses again of their obligations with regard to food safety.

Eggs: Contamination

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what  (a) advice and  (b) information he received from the Food Standards Agency on the entry into the UK food chain of food products made with contaminated egg; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) notified the Department on 5 January 2010 that German eggs sent to the Netherlands for processing were potentially contaminated with dioxins. On 6 January we were informed that potentially contaminated pasteurised liquid whole egg had entered the United Kingdom food chain via the Netherlands and investigations were under way to trace any products manufactured in the UK using the liquid egg. On 7 January, the FSA provided further information to the effect that a risk assessment based on a worst case scenario indicated that there was no food safety risk associated with the consumption of products manufactured using the suspect liquid egg, most of which were of short shelf life and would already have been consumed. The FSA also informed the Department that some retailers had taken the decision to voluntarily remove any remaining implicated products from their shelves.

HIV Infection

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether HIV treatment will be commissioned at national or GP consortium level under his proposals for NHS commissioning structures.

Anne Milton: On 21 December 2010, we published "Healthy Lives, Healthy People: Consultation on the funding and commissioning routes for public health", a copy of which is available in the Library. The aim of this consultation, which closes on 31 March, is to ensure that the Department gets details of the new public health system right while also delivering significant improvements to the health of the population. The document proposes that the NHS Commissioning Board will commission HIV treatment. The detail of how this would be implemented in practice, will be considered on completion of the consultation.

Influenza

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many meetings he had to discuss the NHS's planning and preparation for winter influenza in each month since May 2010;
	(2)  how many meetings the acting chief medical officer had to discuss the NHS's preparations for winter influenza in each month since May 2010.

Anne Milton: The Secretary of State for Health and his Ministers have had on going meetings about influenza throughout the months since May 2010. The same goes for the interim chief medical officer (CMO).
	It should be noted that Ministers and the interim CMO would have received and responded to-and in the case of the interim CMO provided-a considerable amount of written advice in the months in question, often without necessitating meetings in person.

Influenza: Vaccination

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with pharmacy companies on the provision of private flu vaccinations to children under the age of 16 years.

Anne Milton: Departmental officials have been in regular contact with pharmacy representative organisations in relation to seasonal flu. This has been part of our approach to ensuring patients have access to the antiviral medicines they may need.
	Vaccination in pharmacies has arisen in those discussions, including for children. Community pharmacies typically provide flu vaccinations under a patient group direction (PGD). This allows a prescription only medicine to be supplied or administered without a prescription from a doctor. There are rigorous governance procedures that must be used when a PGD is developed. The PGD can be used only by named, registered health care professionals trained to use it and within criteria set by those developing it, such as any age restriction.
	Where vaccination is a private transaction, it is for pharmacy companies to set eligibility criteria, such as age, for example reflecting their staff training. Where a PGD is used in pharmacies within the same organisation and outside of the national health service, the organisation must be registered with the Care Quality Commission.

Influenza: Vaccination

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to extend free NHS flu vaccinations to children under the age of five years.

Anne Milton: The Government's policy on flu vaccination is informed by the expert advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). In their statement of 23 July 2010, JCVI recommended that only those children with clinical conditions which put them more at risk from the effects of flu should be offered the vaccine.
	JCVI does not recommend that children under the age of five outside the at-risk groups should be vaccinated. JCVI met on 30 December to review the latest evidence on this issue. The JCVI chairman subsequently assured me that this advice remains appropriate, and recommended that efforts be focused on maximising vaccine uptake among all those in the risk groups. As with all vaccination programmes, JCVI will keep this matter under review.

Lyme Disease

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will undertake a review of the effectiveness of methods of collecting data on cases of Lyme disease.

Anne Milton: There are no plans to review the effectiveness of data collection methods in respect of Lyme disease. Borrelia spp, the causative agent of Lyme disease, was included as a notifiable causative agent in the Health Protection (Notification) Regulations 2010, and all laboratory isolations of Borrelia spp in a human sample must now be notified to the Health Protection Agency. It is anticipated that: this will capture all cases of laboratory confirmed Lyme disease, particularly all cases where infection has manifested as illness.

Members: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to reply to the letter of 6 December 2010 from the hon. Member for Walsall North on a constituent.

Paul Burstow: A reply was issued to the hon. Member on 11 January 2011.

NHS

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many meetings he had to discuss the Government's proposals for GP commissioning and the NHS White Paper in each month since May 2010.

Simon Burns: Ministers regularly meet with officials and external stakeholders to discuss the Government's national health service reform programme. We have had very frequent meetings to discuss both our proposals for commissioning and the NHS White Paper since May 2010.

NHS: Standards

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that clinical standards are maintained after the removal of the 18-week waiting time target; and if he will make a statement.

Simon Burns: The reforms set out in "Liberating the NHS: Legislative framework and next steps" published on 21 December 2010 will change the focus from measurement of narrow processes to one that focuses on outcomes for patients. The reforms will ensure that patients are at the heart of decisions made in the national health service and that the NHS will continue to drive up quality and maintain standards for patients.
	During 2011-12, commissioners should ensure that waiting times do not deteriorate and where possible improve. This will be delivered through the continued publication of waiting times data, patient choice, standards in contracts, and competition between services.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 25 October 2010,  Official Report, column 126W, on prescriptions: fees and charges, when he plans to  (a) look at options for creating a fairer system of prescription charges and exemptions in England and  (b) announce proposals arising from such consideration;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 25 October 2010,  Official Report, column 126W, on prescriptions: fees and charges, what options he plans to consider when looking at the creation of a fairer system of prescription charges and exemptions;
	(3)  what plans he has for the level of the income threshold for passported entitlement to free prescriptions under his plans for welfare reform; and what estimate he has made of the number of people who will lose their entitlement.

Simon Burns: We are continuing to look at options for reforming the current prescription charging arrangements in England. In particular, we are examining the implications of the introduction of universal credit in relation to those current benefits that entitle the recipient of that benefit to free prescriptions. We are also considering the implications of state pension age changes. We will make announcements about how these changes will be implemented in due course.

Public Health England

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many meetings the acting chief medical officer had to discuss the Government's plans for Public Health England in each month since May 2010.

Anne Milton: The interim chief medical officer has attended numerous meetings over the months since May 2010 about public health with Ministers, external stakeholders, officials and regional directors of public health, and at which the development of Public Health England has been discussed.

Suicide Prevention Strategy

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to launch the new suicide prevention strategy; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: It is currently our intention to publish the new suicide prevention strategy during the spring of this year.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Developing Countries: Asbestos

Simon Danczuk: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire North of 17 November 2010,  Official Report, column 874, whether his Department provides funding to projects which encourage developing countries to import asbestos from Canada to manage their waste appropriately.

Alan Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not provide funding to projects that encourage developing countries to import asbestos, from any country or for any purpose. The UK Government are opposed to the use of asbestos anywhere, and would deplore its supply to developing countries. We are not aware that DFID funds have been spent on asbestos products, and we would take urgent action should we be so advised.

Haiti: Politics and Government

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in Haiti; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Mitchell: The Department for International Development (DFID) has done much to meet urgent needs in Haiti, providing support immediately after the earthquake and again in December 2010. This has helped to reach a million people with food, shelter, clean water and medical care and 200,000 people with cholera treatment and prevention. The UK continues to support Haiti through its contributions to agencies like the UN and World Bank, who are best placed to lead efforts on the ground. Our share of their commitments already amounts to more than $170 million in 2010-11.
	Haiti continues to face difficult humanitarian challenges exacerbated by the subsequent cholera epidemic following the disastrous earthquake a year ago. Shelter and sanitation are the most pressing needs.
	According to the latest United Nations figures, the number of people remaining in camps has fallen from 1.5 million last July to 800,000 in January. Of those 700,000 people leaving the camps, 100,000 have been re-housed in temporary accommodation. Others have returned to their former homes, with some continuing to camp outside their homes where they are too badly damaged. 95% of children in affected areas who were in school before the earthquake have now returned to school. As of 7 January, the Haitian Ministry of Health has reported 3,759 deaths through cholera and 181,829 cases nationwide. The latest United Nations analysis suggests that the epidemic is stabilising in some parts of Haiti but rural areas are still suffering increasing infection rates.

International Violence Against Women Champion

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether he plans to assign staff in his Department to support the International Violence Against Women Champion.

Andrew Mitchell: One member of staff in my Department is responsible for coordinating the Department for International Development's (DFID's) support for the Ministerial Champion for tackling Violence Against Women and Girls overseas. DFID officials will support the development and implementation of the Champion's work programme.

Ivory Coast: Politics and Government

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in the Ivory Coast; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Mitchell: Recent assessments by the United Nations in Ivory Coast suggest that the humanitarian situation is largely under control with critical humanitarian needs being met, both in Ivory Coast itself and in the surrounding countries.
	The total number of persons who have fled the country as a result of the recent unrest is now estimated by the United Nations to be approximately 25,000. The majority of displaced people are seeking refuge in neighbouring Liberia and 16,000 internally displaced people remain within Ivory Coast.
	However, should the political situation deteriorate further and large scale displacement and violence occur, this will require a much more substantial humanitarian response. The United Nations is preparing for this scenario and is developing an emergency humanitarian action plan for Ivory Coast and neighbouring countries.
	The Department for International Development (DFID) will continue to monitor the situation closely to check that needs are being met as effectively and efficiently as possible.

TREASURY

Banks

Julian Huppert: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on support for independent banking businesses serving local communities.

Mark Hoban: The Government believe that it is important for independent banking businesses to serve the needs of their local communities, and welcomes the efforts of banking businesses to do so. However, decisions about how to serve their local communities are a commercial matter for the independent organisations involved.

Economics of Climate Change Review

Peter Lilley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost to the public purse was of the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change.

Justine Greening: The cost to Government of the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change was £1,272,000 including staff costs, accommodation, travel, research and the publication of the final report. This figure does not include the costs of any analysis and research carried out by other Government Departments to support the review, nor does it include the cost of any follow-up work, as these figures are not centrally held.

Individual Savings Accounts

James Wharton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has plans to allow Alternative Investment Market listed stocks to be held in ISAs.

Mark Hoban: ISAs are the Government's main non-pensions savings incentive, and are held by 20 million adults. The Government believes that ISAs are a trusted brand, and that it is important that this is maintained. The Government also believes that ISAs should be mainstream savings products. The Government therefore does not intend to allow shares listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM)-which can be riskier and less liquid-to be qualifying investments for ISAs. It is already the case that companies listed on AIM may benefit from other incentive schemes, such as investments made through the Enterprise Investment Scheme and Venture Capital Trusts.

Members: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to the letter of 9 December 2010 from the hon. Member for Walsall North on the merger between HBOS and Lloyds.

Mark Hoban: I have replied to the hon. Member.

Revenue and Customs

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many employee status enquiries were opened by HM Revenue and Customs in each of the last five financial years; and how many of these were found to be fraudulent in each year.

David Gauke: Employer compliance reviews opened where status was shown as a risk in the last five financial years are:
	
		
			   Reviews 
			 2006-07 4,721 
			 2007-08 3,745 
			 2008-09 2,654 
			 2009-10 2,187 
			 2010 to date 930 
		
	
	None of these were found to be fraudulent cases.

Revenue and Customs

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reasons the Construction Industry Services team in HM Revenue and Customs was discontinued; and where responsibility for the duties previously performed by the team is now allocated.

David Gauke: HMRC is not aware of any HMRC team named the 'Construction Industry Services team'.

Revenue and Customs: ICT

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much HM Revenue and Customs has spent on ultra mobile personal computers (UMPCs) for staff in its Debt Management and Banking Business unit undertaking outdoor debt recovery visits; and what estimate he has made of the  (a) unit cost,  (b) development cost of the Fieldforce Interactive Link (FIL) computer application,  (c) monetary value of the IT support and maintenance contract for the (i) UMPCs and (ii) FIL application and (d) monetary value of the accessories procured for use by staff in conjunction with the UMPCs.

David Gauke: The UMPC service is maintained under the terms of the Department's principal IT supplier contract with Capgemini, known as the Aspire contract.
	The contract is structured so that project development work to deliver software applications is now charged on a fixed price basis, based on the number and cost of function points delivered. For services, prices are charged for all service elements at a commodity level (e.g. per workstation, volumes of printed output etc). The charge to the Department will vary by volume of demand for each service line.
	The unit costs for the UMPCS are covered by commercial confidentiality and it is not possible to disaggregate the figures to provide a specific charge, in cash terms, for the maintenance and support costs. The development cost of the Fieldforce Interactive Link was £1.945 million and the costs for accessories was £25,859.

Revenue and Customs: Manpower

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many employee status inspectors were employed by HM Revenue and Customs and its predecessor organisations  (a) in each of the last 10 years and  (b) on the latest date for which figures are available.

David Gauke: No statistical data on the number of status inspectors employed by HM Revenue Customs, or its predecessor the Inland Revenue, in the last 10 years is available apart from 2009 and 2010. For these years the numbers are 48 for 2009 and 39 for 2010.

Revenue and Customs: Manpower

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff were employed in the HM Revenue and Customs Security and Business Continuity directorate  (a) in each of the last five years and  (b) on the latest date for which figures are available.

David Gauke: The number of staff employed in the HM Revenue and Customs Security and Business Continuity directorate in each of the last five years and at 30 November 2010 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   HMRC  Security and Business Continuity 
			  Date  Headcount  FTE  Headcount  FTE 
			 April 2006 100,738 92,888.45 77 77.31 
			 April 2007 96,511 88,935.55 71 67.81 
			 April 2008 90,961 83,827.84 225 217.85 
			 April 2009 88,875 81,159.89 254 245.12 
			 April 2010 76,033 68,910.43 101 95.31 
			 30 November 2010 74,296 66,992.76 90 85.14

Tax Allowances: Video Games

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration he has given to the introduction of a tax credit for the UK video games industry in the 2011 budget.

David Gauke: The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in the June 2010 Budget statement that the Government will not introduce a tax relief for the UK video games industry.
	The Budget announced a package of reforms to business taxation, reducing rates of corporation tax for all companies. Companies in all sectors will benefit from these changes, including those in the video games industry.

Tax Yields

Liam Byrne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the monetary value was of tax receipts from  (a) business services,  (b) education, health and social work,  (c) financial intermediation,  (d) manufacturing and  (e) other wholesale and retail trade from (i) personal tax, (ii) direct business tax, (iii) consumption tax, (iv) property tax and (v) environmental tax in (A) 2003-04, (B) 2004-05, (C) 2005-06, (D) 2006-07 and (E) 2007-08.

David Gauke: The full breakdown of tax receipts outlined in the question is not available.
	HMRC produce a breakdown by broad industrial sector for corporation tax, PAYE income tax and class 1 national insurance contributions (NICs) and value added tax (VAT). No breakdown by industrial sector for self-assessment taxation or property and environmental taxes is available.
	Historical figures for corporation tax receipts paid by several broadly-defined business sectors are regularly updated and published in Table 11.1 on the HMRC National Statistics website. Receipts information is available from 1997-98 to 2009-10. The sectors are defined by HMRC's Summary Trade Classifications. The latest update is available here:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/corporate_tax/table11_1.pdf
	For personal taxes a breakdown by sector can be produced for PAYE income tax and class 1 NICs received by HMRC in respect of employee and employer liabilities. Figures for the requested sectors are as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Business services 29,567 32,221 35,182 38,996 44,009 
			 Education 16,274 17,498 18,456 19,422 20,133 
			 Health and social work 12,959 14,598 16,167 17,454 17,735 
			 Financial intermediation 17,001 18,739 20,673 24,085 26,160 
			 Manufacturing 25,133 25,696 25,898 26,570 27,355 
			 Wholesale and retail trade 18,733 19,729 20,554 21,512 22,895 
		
	
	The sectors are defined by the Office for National Statistics' Standard Industrial Classification 2003.
	Declared VAT is published by trade group in the VAT factsheet, table 2.3:
	https://www.uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task=factvat
	Archived factsheets provide figures for earlier years:
	https://www.uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task=factarchive&factcategory=8

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Action Plan on Transgender Equality

Penny Mordaunt: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what recent progress has been made on the development of the Action Plan on Transgender Equality; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: holding answer 16 December 2010
	In June 2010 we announced our commitment to publish the first ever Government action plan on transgender equality by the end of 2011.
	Work to develop the action plan is progressing. Our firm commitment is to work with transgender groups to develop the action plan. As part of this, to date the Government Equalities Office has held two informal workshops involving invited members of the transgender community to seek their views on what action is needed to tackle the inequalities they experience. I attended the workshop which took place on 6 December 2010. Our engagement with the transgender community will continue throughout 2011 as we continue to develop the action plan.